Patient Confidentiality In Nursing

Confidentiality within this scenario is defined as Sam’s personal information being kept private by the nurse caring for him (Burns, 2015). This implies that the nurse has a responsibility to maintain Sam’s confidentiality, because they have legal requirements to do so (Aldworth, 2009). This is supported by the nursing and midwifery council (2015) which states that within all care settings nurses should always make sure they are respecting their patient’s right to privacy. This implies that the nurse should keep personal information about Sam confidential and only disclose to other healthcare professionals when necessary for his care. This is vital because the nurse as chosen a career in which they want to care for vulnerable individuals.
This is because Sam trusts the nurse to keep his privacy, and if this trust is broken then the therapeutic relationship that the nurse is developing with Sam may break as stated Aldworth (2009). This means that if Sam does not trust the nurse anymore then he may may not disclose vital information that can be used diagnosed, or can affect the treatment he receives. Student nurses should make sure they are maintaining patient confidentiality while at placement or when using as an example/case study (Siviter, 2013). This is because although they are not professionals yet, they should still have the same legal and ethical responsibilities and accountability as a registered nurse (Nursing and midwifery council competence, 2010). Students should always ask patients for consent to use them as case studies in their assignment, essays or exams, and it’s important to make sure the description doesn’t give away the patient’s identity or placement area. Student should also main confidentiality when talking to other students or other health care staff in public places; this is because if they are speaking about a patient then people will be listening. This means that they are breaking their patient’s right to privacy, even if they do not disclose the patient’s