Essay Writing Nursing Examples, NMC Confidentiality: Academic Support

Social care and Nursing essays will sometimes encourage students to give Nursing practice examples to demonstrate understanding of NMC confidentiality guidelines and learning. When writing nursing essays and giving examples, care must however be taken to write in an objective manner. Nursing students will fine tune their skills, and reduce subjective writing as they progress with their nursing training. 

Nursing Example:

Let’s imagine that the nursing essay learning outcomes requires you to show understanding of why patient confidentiality is paramount when working for the National Health Service. The essay instructions requires you to link your answer to an episode of personal hygiene, in this case it is bed bathing. This is of course a very personal part of care, hence the reason it is chosen to establish how knowledgeable the nursing student is on the topic of confidential matters. 

The introduction to the essay should briefly rephrase the nature of the personal care delivered, and explain that the care took place at a National Health Service (NHS) Trust hospital, in doing so the actual name of the hospital must be kept confidential. The importance of confidentiality should be referenced in accordance with the nursing code of professional conduct (example: NMC, 2020). 

Essay Writing:

International nursing students should note that NMC rules of conduct plays an important role in UK nursing practice and when writing essays. It is therefore advisable to become familiar with the codes. Social Care students hoping to progress into nursing should also raise their awareness about the NMC, and rules governing confidentiality.

ASK STUDY COACH

QUESTION: What is the meaning of NMC?

Answer: The meaning of NMC is the Nursing and Midwifery Council. The NMC provides codes of conduct to govern nursing, midwifery and nursing associates practices. The professional standards must be upheld in order for nurses and midwives to maintain their registration to practise as nurses and midwives. 

QUESTION: What are examples of NMC codes?

Answer: NMC professional codes are grouped under several categories. The health professionals must learn to prioritise people, practise effectively, preserve safety, and promote nursing professionalism and trust. 

The professional nurse should therefore protect patient confidentiality.

Confidentiality

QUESTION: What is an example of Confidentiality in Nursing?

Answer: An example of confidentiality is that nurses should not discuss a patient’s medical history and personal data with friends, family members and others outside of their medical practice. The sharing of patients data amongst professionals must be appropriate (with emphasis on the word ‘appropriate’). 

QUESTION: How do you protect patient’s confidentiality when writing essays?

Answer: To protect patients’ confidentiality when writing essays, nursing students should use a pseudonym name

QUESTION: What is an example of a pseudonym?

Answer: Patient Mr XY was admitted to the hospital with severe chest pains and a sprained ankle (in this case Mr XY is the pseudonym).