Examine an interaction or event from your clinical placement which has required you to demonstrate professional conduct.

Answer

In nursing practice, professionals are faced with multiple instances which require them to apply various principles and values which demonstrate their professional conduct. Notably, nurse practitioners should be guided by the relevant code of ethics, specific to their practice (Snelling 2016, p.229). In the UK, the Nursing & Midwifery Council (NMC) (2018) code provides the various professional standards of practice as well as behaviours which should be observed by nurses and other professions, such as midwives in their clinical interactions with patients. According to Lúanaigh (2015, p.450), professional conduct aims to ensure that nursing professional remains a respected discipline. Additionally, professional behaviour is vital in ensuring the provision of quality care to the patients (Holt 2016, 36). When faced with different clinical events and interactions, nursing professionals often do some of the things well; however, upon evaluation, they realise that there are various areas for improvement. This paper provides a discussion of an event in clinical placement which required my application and demonstration of professional conduct. In specific, I will discuss what went well in the interaction, what did not go well, and various areas for improvement when faced with a similar case in the future.

The Event/Interaction in My Clinical Placement

In my clinical placement, I encountered one of the situations which undoubtedly required me to demonstrate my appreciation of the NMC code of professional conduct. In specific, while placed in the high hospital medical ward, in the patient admission area, I encountered a foreign cataract patient who did not have a good grasp of the English language. Although she could utter some of the words in English, a majority of the words were in her native language which I did not understand. The intermix of her inferior English with her vernacular was even more confusing. As such, when I asked her some questions in English, she only responded in her native language which affected the quality of communication with the patient. I was confused about the best course of action to take to ensure that I can understand the presenting issues and hence be able to provide the best nursing care in the circumstances. However, I had to demonstrate professional conduct in this interaction to ensure that I give the best quality care to the patient.

What I did well

Various aspects went well in the interaction with the client. One of those was that I was sensitive to the needs of the patient and did not show any form of a surprise despite being confused as to the course of action to take. Notably, one of the NMC principles is that or prioritising people. In specific, as nursing professionals, we are required to treat people as individuals and uphold their dignity (NMC 2018, principle. 1). As such, in this instance, I addressed the patient with kindness, compassion, and respect even though I could not comprehend a majority of the words that she was uttering. Additionally, I recognised diversity since I am aware that; as professionals, we are bound to face patients with different needs, and requiring diverse forms of care (Schmidt et al. 2017, p.102). I worked in partnership with the optician to ensure that the problem that the client presented was well handled. In specific, as professionals, we are required to work in conjunction to ensure the effective delivery of quality care. Additionally, I ensured that the nursing care I provided put the patient at the centre, and thus I involved the patient in the making of the decision regarding her cataract condition (Lindberg et al., 2014, p.2208). As such, I demonstrated professional conduct by aligning my actions with principle 8.1 which requires us to respect the skills and expertise as well as the contributions of our colleagues. By referring the patient to an optician, I ensured that I only acted within my competence and worked with colleagues.

What I Did Not Do Well

Despite some of the aspects which went well, there are some of the areas where I did not demonstrate professional conduct. One of those was on the element of communication with the patient. Notably, principle 7 requires that we communicate effectively with our clients by using the terms in the care which our colleagues and public can understand as well as taking reasonable steps in ensuring that both the language as well as communication needs of the patient are met (NMC 2018). I did not demonstrate this principle well as it failed to take measures to ensure that I communicated clearly and effectively with the patient (Jamshidi et al. 2016, p.4). Although I could communicate clearly and effectively in English, I did not seek assistance from colleagues who understood the vernacular of the patient and hence provide an interpretation. Additionally, I did not express myself professionally as; due to the frustrations that I had due to a lack of communication with the patient, I expressed my personal beliefs to the patient which was inappropriate (Sheldon and Hilaire 2015, p.30). In specific, I told the client what I believed in concerning the cataract condition which was an affront to principle 20; which forbids practitioners from expressing their personal beliefs to people in an inappropriate way.

What I Need to Do Well in The Future

In the future, I will have to improve on the areas where I did not act professionally in the interaction with the foreign patient. Notably, in nursing practice, some of the events serve as lessons for future practice, and thus I will use the areas of weakness in this interaction to improve on how I demonstrate professional conduct in the future. In specific, if a similar case arises again, I will ensure that I observe professional behaviour especially principle 7 which demand that I take measures to ensure clear communication with my patients (NMC 2018). For instance, I will deploy the services of an interpreter and will not proceed to provide care to the patient without getting an interpreter (Fitzpatrick 2018, p.26). Additionally, l will use a wide range of verbal and non-verbal communication methods to ensure that I correctly understand the personal and health needs of the patient.

Conclusion

Nurse practitioners, in the UK, are expected to abide by the NMC code of conduct in their practice and demonstrate the principles and values which show their appreciation of code of conduct and ethics. I encountered a cataract patient in a high hospital medical ward who had an inferior grasp of the English language. As such, effective communication was impeded as she was always responding in her vernacular. In this situation, what I did well is that I demonstrated respect, compassion, and kindness to her and embraced the diversity presented in the interaction. However, I failed to seek assistance from an interpreter to ensure that I communicated clearly with the patient. As such, in the future, I will need to take measures to ensure effective communication by using verbal and non-verbal communication strategies.