Confidentiality Of Judgement In The Nursing Profession

Judgement is a vital trait to have in a nursing profession. It involves both intellectual and professional maturity from the nurse. Judgement alone requires the ability from the nurse to pay attention to the clients surroundings, taking into account all the events that have occurred and making an appropriate judgement based on these reasons. It can be defined as “having an idea, a clear opinion following a period of reflexion whereas the term clinical indicates that it is related to the patient” (Le Grand Robert). Clinical judgement is often more complex as the nurse is required to have recent training and experience in this field of work in order to establish a better understanding of the subject (Phaneuf 2008). Clinical judgement is
Confidentiality has been described as the key to safeguarding the human dignity of the patient (Hendrick, 2000). Confidentiality regarding the patient/client record is a declaration of the trust inherent in the nursing/midwifery practice relationship with a patient/client. Ethical and legal considerations influence the professional decision making associated with record management and the sharing of information. Nursing and midwifery managers within the services have a duty to ensure that systems are in place to assist professionals in accordance to this crucially important aspect of their clinical work (An bord altranais 2000). Although confidentiality demands that information from a client to the professional must be kept secret there are few moral and legal considerations in which the nurse can disclose information without the client’s consent. A mental health nurse may also be educated on the Mental Health Commission in order to enhance their clinical judgement and decision making. The Mental Health Commission is an independent body which was established under the Mental Health Act 2001, which then took effect from the 5th April 2002. The Commission's main goal is to develop, encourage and nurture the establishment and keeping of high standards and good practices in the distribution of mental health services and to take all practical steps to safeguard the interests of clients who are detained in approved mental health services (Barber, Brown and Martin, 2014). A mental health nurse may also be aware of their code of conduct. The code of conduct states that “Information regarding a patient’s history, treatment and state of health is privileged and confidential.” Good clinical judgement is implemented when the mental health nurse takes the responsibility of selecting the appropriate information gained from the client to share with fellow professional bodies. In some circumstances the nurse may be