The Nursing and Midwifery Council

Part 1

The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) and “Fitness to Practice” Weighting

State the purpose of the NMC and list three of its main activities 4%

The Nursing and Midwifery Council exist to ensure the safeguard, health and welfare of the public. They set the standards of training, education and conduct of nurses and midwifes, make sure that their knowledge and skills are up dated regularly, they also have a fair process by which to investigate all accusations made against nurses or midwifes (NMC 2009)

With particular reference to the role of the Student Nurse and NMC (2011) guidance, clarify what is meant by the term “Fitness to Practice” 6%

As outlined by the Nursing and Midwifery Council, to undertake the role of a nurse a student must have good health in order to carry out their duty safely and productively without observation and instruction. The proper skills that are needed are updated along with the knowledge to enable duties to be carried out safely and effectively. Good character is important for this role and this includes good conduct good behaviour and lastly but by no means least, good attitude in the work place as well as out. (NMC 2011)

“The justification for fitness for practice arrangements is fundamentally that of protection of the public interest in safeguarding client well-being” (UWS 2014/15)

Part 2

Confidentiality and the Student Nurse’s personal use of social networking sites (e.g. Facebook, Twitter) Weighting

State what is meant by the term “confidentiality” 5%

The meaning of the word confidentiality is in other words privacy. Anything a patient tells a nurse or care worker is confidential and should be treated as such. It should not be repeated to anyone, unless it is important to the well-being of the patient.

“An obligation that requires health professionals to keep any personal information about their patients private” ( Oxford Dictionary of Nursing 2008)

Summarise practical ways in which Registered and Student Nurses protect the confidentiality of patients or service-users in accordance with professional standards and guidance. You are expected to refer directly and specifically to the following: The Code (NMC, 2008); Guidance for record keeping (NMC, 2010) and Confidentiality (NMC, 2013). 15%

There are numerous ways in which a Student Nurse can safeguard the confidentiality of the patient. Ensuring that they are informed about how information is being shared and why it is being shared, also a student nurse must make known any information if it is thought that someone may be at risk of harm (NMC 2008)

People in a nurses care have the right to know about any information that is being held concerning them and patients also have the right to ask for information to be withheld that right must be respected again unless the information that is being withheld could cause harm to the patient or anyone else. (NMC 2010)

Nurses should never discuss anything concerning a patient out with the clinical setting. Do no have discussions with colleagues about patients in places where it may be heard by anyone, and patient’s medical records should never be left unattended where they may be viewed by unofficial people. (NMC 2013)

Outline the NMC (2012) guidance on confidentiality and the Student Nurse’s personal use of social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter. 10%

Many people nowadays use social network sites to find out things or to give news about something that has happened to them, it is also a way of snooping, and you never know just who is looking at the site. Student nurses have a duty to maintain the reputation of their preferred profession at all times (NMC2011)

The conduct of a nurse must be upheld wherever it is, even online activities. If a nurse names herself as such online then she must be aware of what is being posted, It could endanger a nurses career. Do not post anything to do with work, this may include posting grievances about work or about colleagues, never discusses patients or their families online and don’t post pictures of patients or their families or anything illegal, anyone could be looking at it.

“Once something is online it can be copied and redistributed” (NMC 2012)