NURBN 1001 Assessment 1A: Professional Practice in Nursing

This assignment, prepared for NURBN 1001, examines the core principles of professional nursing practice. It defines professional practice and delves into the specifics of professional nursing practice, emphasizing adherence to codes of conduct, ethical standards, and legal requirements as outlined by the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA). The assignment explores patient rights as detailed in the Australian Charter of Health Care Rights and the implications of privacy and confidentiality in healthcare settings, referencing relevant legislation. A video case study illustrates unprofessional conduct, highlighting the consequences of neglecting professional duties and failing to meet patient needs. The document includes references to support the analysis of the nursing code of conduct.

Running Head: PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE IN NURSING 1
PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE IN NURSING
Student Name:
Student ID:

PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE IN NURSING 2
Professional Practice
Professional practice refers to the conduct and works in a particular profession.
Professional bodies might have set standards of ethics, performance, insurance, competence,
training and ascertain other factors such that individuals can remain in the profession.
Professional nursing practice is defined as the practice and behavior of nurses and
midwives within the codes of conduct, standards for practice and codes of ethics as defined
by the Nursing and Midwifery Board (Halcomb et al, 2017).
Privacy and confidentiality within the Health field
Registered Nursing health professionals with regards to privacy and confidentiality need to
abide by the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law as well as the National Law
concerning each state and territory (Atkins et al, 2017). The National Boards maintain
confidentiality and privacy for the protection of information.
Nurses need to maintain the privacy and confidentiality of their patient information. It is a
crucial part of confidentiality and privacy is a crucial part of the nursing practice (Health
Records Act 2001).
Patient rights
The purpose of the Australian Charter of Health Care Rights is to detail the patient rights
and of other people using the Australian health system (AHPRA, 2014). This Charter
provides patients, families, consumers, carers, and services in the process of providing care to
have an understanding regarding the people receiving health care
These rights are integral for the patient and consumers as well as for the health
professionals in clinical settings such that appropriate and significant health care can be

PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE IN NURSING 3
provided (The Privacy Act 1988). It ensures having a holistic understanding of the process of
rendering care.
The significance of the patients' health care rights is important tremendously when related
to professional practice as it allows conforming to codes of practice and delivering standards
of care (Amendment (enhancing privacy protection) Act 2012).
Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia Code of Conduct.
The purpose of the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia Code of Conduct for
Nurses is to provide an outline of the main responsibilities and roles of nurses and how it
should be performed (NMBA, 2018). It is essential for clinical practice for the delivery of
standards of care and cater to ethical codes of ethics. In clinical practice, is allows defining
professional boundaries and a course of practice.
How can health professionals ensure that they are providing professional nursing practice
working within the nurses’ code of conduct?
Health professionals can provide professional nursing practice functioning within the
nurses' code of conduct by abiding by legal requirements, behaving professionally and
conducting themselves as per the nurses in practice settings (Australian Commission on
Safety and Quality in Health Care, 2019).
Video Case study
The video depicts a condition where the nurse ignores her professional duties and behaves
in an unprofessional manner. Though the patient is seen to suffer from tremendous pain and
her brother calls her several times for help, she shows the least interest in attending to the
patient (Slatyer et al, 2016). This depicts that the nurse ignored her professional practice by
not abiding by the code of conduct. She ignored the patient's health and standards of safety by

PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE IN NURSING 4
attending to her calls. The patient's brother had called the doctor to attend to her sister, when
the doctor asked the nurse what was wrong with the patient then also the nurse refused to
attend to the patient and said the patient was overreacting. This shows the nurse total not
acknowledging the NMBA standards of practice or abiding by her professional guidelines
and codes.

PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE IN NURSING 5
PLEASE CHECK REQUIREMENT FILE- 2 SELF SEARCHED REFERENCES +
REFRENCES GIVEN BY PROFESSOR NEEDED TO BE INCLUDED
References
Amendment (enhancing privacy protection) Act 2012. Accessed from
<https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2012A00197>
Atkins, K., De Lacey, S., Ripperger, R., & Britton, B. (2017). Ethics & law for Australian
nurses (3rd ed.). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care. (2019). The Australian charter
of health care rights (second edition). Accessed from
<https://www.safetyandquality.gov.au/national-priorities/charter-of
healthcarerights/review-of-the-charter-of-healthcare-rights-second-edition>
Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA). (2014). National Board policy
for Registered health practitioner Social Media Policy. Accessed from
<https://www.nursingmidwiferyboard.gov.au/Codes-Guidelines-
Statements/Policies/Social-media-policy.aspx>
Halcomb, E., Stephens, M., Bryce, J., Foley, E., & Ashley, C. (2017). The development of
professional practice standards for Australian general practice nurses. Journal of
Advanced Nursing, 73(8), 1958-1969. DOI: 10.1111/jan.13274.
Health Records Act 2001 (Vic). Accessed from
<http://www.legislation.vic.gov.au/Domino/Web_Notes/LDMS/LTObject_Store/LTOb
jSt2.nsf/DDE300B846EED9C7CA257616000A3571/12626CDEB1AB334FCA2577 6
10020607F/$FILE/01-2a001.pdf>

PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE IN NURSING 6
Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia. (2018). Code of conduct for nurses. Accessed
from https://www.nursingmidwiferyboard.gov.au/Codes-Guidelines-Statements/
Professional-standards.aspx
Slatyer, S., Coventry, L. L., Twigg, D., & Davis, S. (2016). Professional practice models for
nursing: A review of the literature and synthesis of key components. Journal of Nursing
Management, 24(2), 139-150. DOI: 10.1111/jonm.12309.
The Privacy Act 1988 (Cth). Accessed from
<https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2019C00241 Privacy