Integrating personal belief and professional responsibility
The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) code of conduct and ethics outlines the standards, behaviours and practices expected of all registered nurse in the course of their practice. Nurses must study and consider this along with all the other rules, standards, guidance and advice published by the NMC.
One central theme within The code: standards of conduct, performance and ethics for nurses and midwives (NMC, 2008) is that nurses should not use their privileged position to pursue their own goals or purposes. This is reflected within the following clauses:
- “You must not abuse your privileged position for your own ends”
- “You must not use your professional status to promote causes that are not related to health.”
Not abusing one’s privileged position and promoting causes not related to health can be interpreted and applied to the area of personal belief. This means that nurses must be fully aware of their own personal beliefs and how these might influence their professional practice. For example, imposing your religious beliefs on individuals in your care and using nursing practice as a vehicle to do this is morally, ethically and professionally wrong.
The remainder of this section will explore the relationships between personal belief and practice, providing some guidance on how these can be managed within nursing practice.
Reference: Nursing and Midwifery Council (2008) The code: standards of conduct, performance and ethics for nurses and midwives, London: NMC