May 1st sees the launch of a new code of conduct for nurses. Often ridiculed and undermined, some people who frequent the blogsphere seem to imagine that nurses are just people who do their best to undermine doctors, act as if they couldn’t care less and who generally are too grand to get their latex gloves dirty (supposing they aren’t allergic to them), In my experience nothing could be further from the truth. Nurses in 2008 are stuck between the devil and the deep blue sea. On one hand they are meant to be caring individuals who understand the social and psychological needs of their patients and who know one end of the body from the other (mainly so that they can provide appropriate care). On the other hand they need to be able to develop more specialised skills so that they can take on specific roles that some doctors (but not all) have become tired with or who quite rightly see that nurses might actually be pretty good at taking on.

Nurses can’t just complete their pre-registration training, take their RN qualification and go off into the sunset (thank goodness), they can’t just go about their lives forgetting they are nurses when it suits them. Nurses are required to conduct themselves in a particular way that is becoming to their nursing qualification and what is more, the new code of conduct, produced by our regulator the Nursing and Midwifery Council and released officially this week is quite specific.

Some of the areas of note are that:

The people in your care must be able to trust you with their health and well being. To justify that trust you must make the care of people your first concern, treating them with as individuals and respecting their dignity. Work with others to promote the health and wellbeing of those in your care, their families and carers and the wider community. Provide a high standard of practice and care at all times. Be open and honest, act with integrity and uphold the reputation of your profession.

Some of the areas of the code include:

• Treat people as individuals
• Respect people’s confidentiality
• Collaborate with those in your care
• Ensure you gain consent
• Maintain clear professional boundaries
• Share information with colleagues
• work effectively as part of a team
• Delegate effectively
• Manage risk
• Use the best available evidence
• Keep your skills and knowledge up to date
• Keep clear and accurate records
• Act with integrity
• Deal with problems
• Be impartial
• Uphold the reputation of the profession

We have all been issued with a small, but comprehensive, pocket sized document. You can read the full contents of what it says here.

As a nurse I am obliged to uphold the code of conduct, it is not something I or my colleagues should take lightly.