The Nursing Midwifery Council ( Nmc ) Code Of Conduct

Being a midwife does not only defined by assisting women in childbirth. The general dictionary definition are the misconception of how people view midwives. Being a midwife means to be ‘with women’ and this leads the construction of the midwifery philosophy, Page (2006) 5 steps and Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA) competency standards, in order to provide the best women centred care (Australia Collage of Midwives, 2017). This essay will cover a constructive overview of what Page (2006) 5 steps of being a midwife means, it will also defined what women centred care is and emphasis on the importance it has for the woman. Understanding Page (2006) 5 steps and women centred care helped build the pathway for midwifery philosophy to correlate with NMBA competency standard in order to support midwifery practice. For

The Principles of Nursing Practice were introduced by the Royal college of Nursing (RCN) with the input from the Department of Health, the Nursing Midwifery Council, service users and user organisations. They indicate to the public what they should expect from nursing practice, no matter if they are a colleague, service user, or the relatives or carers of the service users. The Principles explain what makes up the safe and effective nursing care, and encounter the aspects of behaviour, attitude and approach that underlie good quality care. They are important to health professionals, in delivering safe care because they indicate how to follow the principles, to be able to assist you in reflecting on your practice and development as a

Nurses have a responsibility to provide safe, quality and competent nursing care and are therefore expected to conduct themselves personally and professionally in accordance with the code of conducts established by the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia. The Code of professional Conduct as well as the Code of Ethics for Nurses in Australia together provide a quality framework of professional practice for Nurses, outlining a set of minimum standards Registered Nurses are expected to maintain (Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia, 2010). Unprofessional conduct is defined as “conduct that is contrary to the accepted and agreed practice standards of the profession” (Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia, 2010). In the video “Crossing

As a student nurse, I ascertain that the main principle in nursing is the care of my patients, to treat them as individuals and respect their dignity. I feel that it is fundamental to provide a high standard of practice and care at all times. To be open, honest and to work with integrity. The four main principles of the code that I will be working to are outlined by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) (Guidance on professional conduct for students of Nursing and Midwifery, 2012).

This report will evaluate the roles and responsibilities of a midwife. “Midwifery encompasses care of women during pregnancy, labour, and the postpartum period, as well as care of the new-born.”(WHO, 2015) This is a recent definition and clearly points out that a midwife has many roles and responsibilities. The NMC Codes of Conduct will be evaluated with specific emphasis on recent changes within healthcare. These changes took place as a result of the tragedies at Mid-Staffordshire Hospital in 2005-2009 and are the outcome of the Francis report in order to improve care given to patients.

This assignment will discuss how the Nursing & Midwifery Council Code (NMC) of Conduct can guide provision of a person centered care in every day nursing practice. The writer will define person centered care, describe in detail the four standards that are expected to be set in place from NMC code 2015 which include, prioritise people, practice effectively, preserve safety and promote professionalism and trust. It will also discuss the relationship between the standards set and how these influence person centered care in the nursing profession. The writer will look at how these standards guide and inform nurses in everyday health care and how important they are. The information used for this assignment will be gathered from books, various journals and healthcare related websites to support relevant literature addressed.

The NMC has a code of professional conduct, standard for conduct, performance and ethics, the code clearly states the need for nurses, midwives as well as special community public health nurses to maintain their professional knowledge and competence in order to deliver care based on current evidence, best practice and where applicable (NMC 2004, p.10). Hence, nursing profession is regulated by the NMC which has

In this Assignment, we will be looking at and discussing how the Nursing Midwifery Council’s Code (NMC) can guide the provision of person centred nursing care. What is the NMC’s Code? NMC Code is a list of professional requirements that which the nurses and midwives needs to adhere in order to practice in United Kingdom. This Code also helps the nurses and midwives to maintain their professional standards throughout their career. The Code is divided into four important sections. The sections are Prioritise people, Practise effectively and Preserve safety and Promote professionalism and trust (NMC 2015).

In this assignment we will be discussing how the Nursing and Midwifery Council NMC (2015) guides nurses in the direction of good practice. Why we have the code? Who the code is for? How to implement the code in our daily lives as practitioners. The NMC (2015) is a set of guidelines which nurses and midwives must adhere to in order to provide the best care possible to their patients. The NMC (2015) is split into four main sections:

In any practice of care, nurses must be able to provide care that is holistic and centred to the individual client. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), to care for a patient ‘holistically’ is to look beyond their illness or disability and care for them as individuals considering not just physical but also their mental, emotional and spiritual well-being (ref). Whilst, person-centred care is to deliver care moulded to the patients’ personal preferences, treating them with value and respect, ensuring that the care provided is appropriate for their needs (Goodrich and Cornwall, 2008).

As healthcare professionals, nurses are governed by and must have understanding of ethical, legal and professional frameworks which underpin practice (Gallagher and Hodge, 2012). They follow these frameworks to help direct themselves in making decisions in collaboration with service users to ensure person centred care is delivered.

Essential care needs present specific requirements for an individual’s survival. The Nursing and Midwifery Council (2010), suggest nurses should be able to consider patient’s essential care needs and aid them with these needs when patients are not able to help themselves. Allowing nurses to make the patient feel comfortable, during periods when they may be undergoing distress or discomfort. Nurses have to deliver essential care such as making sure patients are eating sufficient amounts of food, keeping hydrated and assisting with hygiene needs.

As an individual’s ethics will play a large part in their practice, there are specific guidelines and legislation that exist to ensure that nurses, as well as other health professionals, practice in a way that is ethical (Avery, 2013). These laws further exists to attempt to simplify the ethical issues that sometimes present in nursing practice and to attempt to guide one’s actions. The Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA) provides guidance to nurses by providing a number of professional codes and guidelines (Avery, 2013). The NMBA has developed a code of ethics for nurses comprising of eight codes (Avery, 2013). These are as follows; 1) Nurses value quality nursing care for all people; 2) Nurses value respect and kindness for self and others;

NMC (2008) The Code: Standards of conduct, performance and ethics for nurses and midwives. London: Nursing and Midwifery Council

Ongoing development and changes in healthcare delivery enable nurses to maintain standards of nursing and develop their competence and performance. Through this the patients well-being is maintained, respecting them through accessing up to date knowledge and skills that are essential in an ever changing environment.