Equality and Diversity Assignment Sample

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Introduction: Equality And Diversity

Organizations expect nursing professionals to uphold high standards of care with patient safety as well as ethical decision-making abilities. Nursing Associates who work to connect healthcare support workers with registered nurses need to follow professional standards that match the NMC Code of Conduct (2015) and NHS values and Equality Act 2010 requirements. This UK assignment examines Nursing Associates' professional accountabilities and their position in multi-team healthcare alongside the effect of honesty, integrity, emotional intelligence and responsibility on patient medical care. Professional nursing practice depends on cultural competence together with risk assessment and safeguarding practices.

Equality and Diversity Assignment Sample

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Douglas Lockwood 8 Years | MSc

Key Aspects of Professional Nursing Associate Practice

In addition to their clinical responsibilities, Nursing Associates play a crucial role in patient education and support. By explaining care procedures, treatment plans, and promoting healthy lifestyle choices, they empower patients to take an active role in their own health. This aspect of practice enhances patient outcomes and fosters a collaborative relationship between patients and the healthcare team.

The Core Elements of Professional Practice for Nursing Associates

Nursing Associates function as essential healthcare personnel because they link healthcare support workers to registered nurses in providing professional services (Khan and Gurbutt, 2024). Despite earning a reduction in pay post-qualification, Nursing Associates maintain their professional standards while following ethical codes and NMC-established legal provisions and professional practices. Nursing Associates deliver evidence-based, safe healthcare by working with their multi-disciplinary team to provide compassionate care (Baek et al., 2023). Nursing associates provide clinical assistance to patients while offering care directly and collaborating with other professionals to generate superior healthcare results through their work capabilities. The professional practice follows several essential elements corresponding to the module's learning outcomes.

Learning the environmental framework of Nursing Associate functions

The NHS operates as the organizational base for delivering care, while the NMC Code (2015) provides ethical and performance requirements for professional conduct (NMC, 2018). Nursing Associates need to understand all the policies, procedures, and job descriptions at their local health services, which specify their duties. Professionals must engage in reflective practice because this process helps them evaluate experiences thoroughly while deriving knowledge from difficulties to develop superior care methods for patients. Nursing Associates who build self-awareness alongside their dedication to lifelong learning both uphold high professional quality and achieve better teamwork within healthcare settings (Mlambo et al., 2021).

Ethical and Legal Considerations in Professional Conduct

The delivery of safe healthcare follows ethical and legal guidelines which mandate accountability and respect for patients during care provision. Professional conduct requires Nursing Associates to respect patient dignity, maintain confidentiality, and function within their designated practice boundaries according to the NMC Code. Healthcare services are protected from discrimination and enhanced through inclusivity because of the Equality Act 2010 legal framework (GOV UK, 2010). Promoting Equality and Diversity is a key part of Nursing Associate practice, ensuring that all patients receive fair and respectful care regardless of their background. The Health and Social Care Act 2012 both protects patient rights and mandates healthcare professionals to maintain safe healthcare that meets quality standards. Nursing Associates need to prove their accountability through a commitment to ethical rules, making ledged decisions, and maintaining strict professional conduct. The Equality Act 2010 is the legal framework supporting disabled people accessing public services in the UK, including healthcare services (Heslop et al., 2019).

Roles, Responsibilities, and Scope of Practice within the Multi-Disciplinary Team

Nurses of the associate rank deserve a prime position in multi-disciplinary teams for delivering full patient care (NursingEducationStaff, 2024). Nursing Associates require professional judgment to execute their independent responsibilities even though they maintain registration under registered nurses. Nursing Associates meet their duties through patient condition surveillance while delivering clinical procedural support alongside medication delivery based on established local protocols and providing continuous assistance to both patients and their family members. When healthcare teams unite with doctors along with nurses and allied health professionals, they create better patient treatment through holistic care (Mlambo et al., 2021). Equality and Diversity practices are integral in multi-disciplinary teams to ensure every patient’s unique needs and preferences are respected during care planning. The fundamental requirement of effective communication serves this context because Nursing Associates must share important details while constructing patient care designs and protecting their rights. Caring professionals can uphold their professional standards and achieve excellent health results by properly recognizing their job requirements.

Cultural Competence and Diversity in Healthcare

Equitable healthcare delivery depends heavily upon cultural competence and diverse patient treatment methods. Health professionals who recognize diverse backgrounds together with beliefs and values, deliver individualized care with complete inclusivity to patients. By actively embracing Equality and Diversity principles, Nursing Associates help reduce healthcare disparities and support an inclusive environment for all patients. The Nursing Associates should be aware of the factors which include the social organization that produces disparities in healthcare and inform patients' outcomes in health. The culturally competent healthcare worker provides support wherein access is afforded to everyone at every point and is alert to issues of race, ethnicity, gender, disability, and in socio-economic considerations (Heslop et al., 2019). It has been shown that a combination of effective communication with culturally sensitive care provides better satisfaction among patients. These principles will help Nursing Associates fight against discrimination while advocating for vulnerable populations and developing inclusive healthcare services for all.

Honesty, Integrity, Candour, Emotional Intelligence, and Resilience

Sound decision-making, then, depends on reasonable honesty with some very high principles-internalized through emotional intelligence. The NMC Code gave Nursing Associates the duty of ensuring the disclosure of mistakes and never culminating their practices (NMC, 2018b). A good professional has to live by ethical principles in her day-to-day work, always ensuring that the safety of patients is marked as the highest priority and protect boundaries. Healthcare professionals who gain emotional intelligence develop the ability to deal with the stress of interacting with highly emotional "patient states" and to select a course of action that is best for the patient.

Risk Assessment, Patient Safety, and Safeguarding

Their effectiveness depends immensely upon the risk assessment procedures; hence, the ensuring of safety and protection of the interests of patients goes hand-in-hand. The safe environment of the healthcare sector ensures safety with a protective approach against incidents through hazard identification concurrent with infection protocols and medication standards. Safeguarding policies exist primarily to protect vulnerable patients against maltreatment so that they will not suffer abuse, neglect, and exploitation-related problems. Nursing Associates need to be able to identify safeguarding indicators, a matter that they should relay quickly for the initiation of appropriate interventions.

Conclusion

Professional Nursing Associate practice, by their very nature, includes elements of ethics, law, and high standards of care. In practice, Nursing Associates are heavily relied upon by the healthcare system to provide safe, effective, humane care for patients in coordination with other multidisciplinary teams. Nursing Associate practice is directed by the Nursing and Midwifery Council Code (2015) and some other necessary NHS Policy documents and legal frameworks, which promote professional ideals in terms of accountability and inclusivity.

References

• Baek, H., Han, K., Cho, H. and Ju, J. (2023). Nursing Teamwork Is Essential in Promoting patient-centered care: a cross-sectional Study. BMC Nursing, [online] 22(1). doi:https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-023-01592-3.
• GOV UK (2010). Equality Act 2010. [online] Legislation.gov.uk. Available at: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2010/15/contents.
• Heslop, P., Turner, S., Read, S., Tucker, J., Seaton, S. and Evans, B. (2019). Implementing reasonable adjustments for disabled people in healthcare services. Nursing Standard, [online] 34(8), pp.29–34. doi:https://doi.org/10.7748/ns.2019.e11172.
• Khan, A. and Gurbutt, R. (2024). Registered nurses’ perceptions of nursing associates’ professional identity - British Journal of Nursing. [online] British Journal of Nursing. Available at: https://www.britishjournalofnursing.com/content/professional/registered-nurses-perceptions-of-nursing-associates-professional-identity/.
• Mlambo, M., Silén, C. and McGrath, C. (2021). Lifelong Learning and Nurses’ Continuing Professional development, a Metasynthesis of the Literature. BMC Nursing, 20(62), pp.1–13. doi:https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-021-00579-2.
• NMC (2018a). The Code Professional Standards of Practice and Behaviour for Nurses and Midwives Nursing and Midwifery Council. [online] Nursing and Midwifery Council. London: Nursing and Midwifery Council. Available at: https://www.nmc.org.uk/globalassets/sitedocuments/nmc-publications/nmc-code.pdf.
• NMC (2018b). The code: Professional Standards of Practice and Behaviour for nurses, Midwives and Nursing Associates. [online] Nursing and Midwifery Council. Available at: https://www.nmc.org.uk/standards/code/.
• NursingEducationStaff (2024). How Do Nurses Prepare to Work in a Multidisciplinary Team? [online] NursingEducation. Available at: https://nursingeducation.org/insights/multidisciplinary-team/.