Professional Values and Decision Making

Abstract

This is the first chapter in the part of the book exploring each of the four domains comprising the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) Standards for Pre-Registration Nursing Education (NMC 2010) in which the student nurse in the United Kingdom has to demonstrate attainment of the specific competencies to achieve registration as a nurse. In keeping with the overall aims of the book, the aim of this chapter is to help you to develop your decision-making skills in the domain of ‘professional values’. It will offer real-life case studies to illustrate key issues and how you, as a student, can learn to make effective decisions in your journey to becoming a registered nurse. Because this book is written by registered nurses, many of whom work in education, you will probably not be very surprised to learn that we think your decision to become a nurse could be one of the best decisions that you have made to date—but do you really understand what lies before you? Before you begin to be concerned about the ‘right-ness’ of your decision to become a nurse, it is important to remember that there are many individuals who are there to help you on your professional journey, including your personal tutors, mentors and other practitioners in practice, lecturers, other students, and most importantly the patients and clients for whom you will be caring and with whom you will be working. In addition, you will have friends and family who offer a different kind of support to you, as well as those organizations that can offer professional support to you as a student nurse and subsequently to you as a qualified nurse. This chapter also intends to help you to appreciate the significance of the NMC’s Guidance on Professional Conduct for Nursing and Midwifery Students (NMC 2011) as you embark on your professional and personal journey to become a registered practitioner who is able to demonstrate the required standards of conduct, performance, and ethics, as expressed in The Code: Standards of Conduct, Performance and Ethics for Nurses and Midwives (NMC 2008).