Accountability in Relation to the Role of Nursing - Essay Example

Accountability in relation to the role of nursing Today, nurses are more accountable than they have ever beenbefore, to their patients, employers, their profession and the public in general. Therefore, it is very important for nurses to understand clearly the dilemmas they face in their profession both legally and ethically. Accountability is at the heart of nursing practice. Accountability is thus an extremely imperative concept that is crucial when it comes to protecting patients and the public more so if the parties involved are vulnerable children and adults. Accountability is the means through which the law imposes boundaries and regulations on the nursing professional practice. This is because nurses ought to be answerable for their actions through civil, criminal and contract law elements (Griffith & Tengnah, 2010, p. 2). Accountability in the nursing profession simply means nurses being able to give an account of what they did, when they did it and reason behind their actions. This means that nurses are obliged to account for their actions and that they should be capable of being accounted. Nurses should take full responsibility of whatever happens in their lives rather than blaming other parties, for instance, head nurses or facilities in their settings that “failed” in certain way (Hood, 2012, p.299). The NMC code of professional conduct is the focus of regulatory accountability for nurses since all other professions have different codes. These professional standards and guidelines set by the NMC apply to nurses and midwives (Caulfield, 2011, p.29). The NMC issues a conduct code for all nurses and midwives in the UK. The purpose of the code is setting out a foundation for good midwifery and nursing practices. It is therefore a key tool when it comes to the safeguarding of the wellbeing and health of the public (Great Britain, 2011, p.5). According to the NMC, (2008, p. 2), nursing professionals are personally accountable for any actions and any omission (what they decide not to do) that may occur in their practice; hence, they must always be in a position to justify any decision they make regarding patient care. Nurses must act lawfully all the time regardless of whether the laws apply to professional patient care or personal life. The failure of complying with the code has the ability to bring into question a nurse’s fitness to practise and may further endanger a nurse’s registration (NMC, 2008, p.2). In any profession, accountability is integral especially where professional judgements are involved. Nurses and midwives make numerous judgements on a daily basis regarding patient care while making their decisions based on best practise evidence and the best interest of the individual. All the decisions they make must be justifiable. This is because they hold responsibility positions and others rely upon them. In addition, they are accountable professionally to the NMC, contractual accountable to their employer and accountable for their actions legally. In case a nurse or a midwife is in a position where the care to be delivered to a patient is harmful or unsafe, he or she should consider the issue very carefully before acting and then raise concerns with the appropriate individuals. This is because all their actions must be in the best interests of a patient (NMC, 2010). When it comes to delegating care, nurses and midwives are also accountable. Nurses and midwifes should delegate any aspect of care to individuals who have received appropriate training and are competent to provide the required care or perform the task. The nurses and midwifes delegating should always ensure that the individual delegated fully understands the delegated task and especially what they are expected to do. The individual delegated must know their limits and be aware of when to seek advice, especially when circumstances change, from the appropriate professionals. After these conditions are met and the care aspect delegated, the individual delegated becomes accountable for all the decision he or she makes. Nevertheless, the nurse or the midwife is still accountable for overall managing the patient in their care. For example, when a nursing supervisor assigns direct client care to individual nurses on a shift but remains accountable for the overall supervision of the provision of care to the patients and the individual nurse is responsible and accountable for the direct nursing care provided to their clients during the shift (Koutoukidis, Stainton, Hughson & Tabbner, 2013, p.35). When an employer is responsible for delegating care, then the employer becomes the one accountable for delegation. According to the code, a nurse or midwife should act immediately if they believe a colleague or any individual is putting that patient at risk (NMC, 2012). Moreover, the nursing managers should be accountable for the staff roaster developed from the nursing staff in the wards (NICE, 2014). Accountability is linked intrinsically to the professionalism concept whereby professionals are required to answer to external governing bodies. The NMC has had this role for nurses in the UK since its establishment in 2002. Its key role is protecting the public by establishing standards of educating, training, conduct and performance. It also maintains a professional register that includes the names of all individuals entitled to be registered nurses. Professional accountability gives nurses the power to control entry onto the register and regulates nurses’ rights to remain on the register by imposing professional standards and ensuring the nurses’ fitness to practise. The obligation of accountability contained in the NMC code can be grouped essentially around a central theme of obligation or duty of care to patients. Professional accountability maintains the patient’s trust in the individual nurse and support for the nursing professional as a whole. The nurses meeting the minimum registration standards also have the power to decide whether to remove an individual from the register due to misconduct, ill health or lack of competence (Burton, & Ormrod, 2011, p.60). Nursing accountability also includes the moral responsibility of reporting any behaviour that endangers a patient’s safety, maintaining high ethical standards, providing clients with adequate information concerning their care and following the guidelines and policies developed by their employers and their professional organisations to promote the delivery of effective and safe nursing care. The regulatory authorities may refer to the various codes to guide them when they are considering situations of alleged misconduct. The nurses’ accountability concept is incorporated into the professional standards and the codes for professional conduct and ethics (Koutoukidis, Stainton, Hughson & Tabbner, 2013, p.35). Nurses and student nurses should therefore be able to; understand the factors influencing professional accountability, be confident about the functions and role played by regulatory bodies in professional accountability, understand the key functions of the NMC and NICE, describe the professional regulatory bodies that regulate individuals and relate professional accountability across the range of healthcare settings (Caulfield, 2011, p. 29). References Top of Form Top of Form Top of Form Top of Form Top of Form Bottom of Form Top of Form Top of Form Burton, R., & Ormrod, G. 2011. Nursing: Transition to professional practice. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Bottom of Form Caulfield, H. 2011. Vital Notes for Nurses. Hoboken, John Wiley & Sons. http://public.eblib.com/choice/publicfullrecord.aspx?p=826875. Great Britain. 2011. Annual accountability hearing with the Nursing and Midwifery Council: seventh report of session 2010-12 : report. together with formal minutes, oral and written evidence. London, Stationery Office. Griffith, R., & Tengnah, C. 2010. Law and professional issues in nursing. Exeter: Learning Matters. Hood, L. J. 2012. Leddy & peppers conceptual bases of professional nursing. St. Louis, Wolters Kluwer Health. Koutoukidis, G., Stainton, K., Hughson, J., & Tabbner, A. R. 2013. Tabbners nursing care: Theory and practice. Chatswood, N.S.W: Churchill Livingstone. NICE. 2014. Safe staffing for nursing in adult inpatient wards in acute hospitals. Available from: < http://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/sg1>. [Accessed 24 November 2014]. NMC. 2008. The Code: Standards of conduct, performance and ethics for nurses and midwives. Available from: < http://www.nmc-uk.org/Publications/Standards/The-code/Introduction/>. [Accessed 24 November 2014]. NMC. 2010. Regulation in practice. Available from: . [Accessed 24 November 2014]. NMC. 2012. Delegation. Available from: < http://www.nmc-uk.org/Nurses-and-midwives/advice-by-topic/a/advice/Delegation/>. [Accessed 24 November 2014]. Bottom of Form Bottom of Form Bottom of Form Bottom of Form Bottom of Form Read More