Professionalism for Newly Registered Professionals (NRP)
David Huggins: Senior Lecturer in Operating Department Practice
Jane M Hibberd: Lecturer in Occupational Therapy
October 2016
Newly Registered Professional Name:
Date of completing Professionalism booklet:
Copyright University of East Anglia, October 2016
This material may not be reproduced in whole or in part without the written permission of the Head of the School of Health Sciences of the University of East Anglia
This booklet will explore professionalism concepts and review the following;
To understand the concept of professionalism and to consider where and how it is situated in the context of service delivery and implementation;
To understand the transitional challenges that may affect newly registered professionals and mechanisms that can be used to manage the transitional period;
To identify and understand how professional socialisation of newly registered professionals are affected by organisational culture and role models;
To critically situate the importance of professionalism as part of career development and consolidation of knowledge, skills and attitudes as a newly registered professional;
To identify and understand professionalism as a multi-dimensional construct;
To evaluate the maintenance of professionalism within newly registered professionals;
To enable the development of mechanisms to promote preceptorship for newly registered professionals in the workplace.
During this session your facilitator will guide you throughout booklet and you will undertake and complete various exercises.
Your facilitator will then generate discussion with you all on the evidence generated and how this links to you as a Newly Registered Professional.
The booklet will then become a resource for you to access during your preceptorship period.
There are 3 sections within this booklet that will cover key themes surrounding professionalism topics and the transition between qualifying and becoming a newly registered professional.
These themes are looking at influence on maintaining professional behaviour in your new role and develop traits that will continue throughout your career.
Section 1: Professionalism as a concept
Section 2: Influence on developing and maintaining professionalism on newly registered professionals
Section 3: Supporting professional development of Newly Registered Professionals.
Section 1
Professionalism as a concept
Ask yourself and discuss with your colleagues the following;
Why are you here?
Why do you think professionalism is an important subject for you as a vital part of your role?
What do you think are the biggest drivers and influencers of needing to raise professionalism in newly registered professional staff?
Discuss the answers with your colleagues and facilitator.
The Francis Report
Examined the causes of the failings in care at Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust from 2005-09
290 recommendations as a consequence including:
openness, transparency and candour throughout the healthcare system (including a statutory duty of candour), fundamental standards for healthcare providers;
Improved support for compassionate caring and committed care and stronger healthcare leadership.
http://www.health.org.uk/about-francis-inquiry
Berwick review 2013
A promise to learn a commitment to act
http://www.health.org.uk/node/130
What is your understanding of the following terms? Write your definitions in the box below
A Professional
Professionalism
Professionalism can be seen as:
Adjective:
relating to or belonging to a profession
worthy of or appropriate to a professional person; competent, skilful, or assured
engaged in a specified activity as ones main paid occupation rather than as an amateur
Noun:
a person engaged or qualified in a profession: professionals such as lawyers and surveyors
a person engaged in a specified activity, especially a sport, as a main paid occupation rather than as a pastime
a person competent or skilled in a particular activity
[Oxford Dictionary, 2016]
Professionalism
The word professional is used to describe a practitioner who has undergone an approved and accredited course of training, the success of which permits the candidate to be entered onto a register, maintained by the regulatory body of that profession
The professions are governed by statutes that legally support the ruling body of the profession and the regulation of practice e.g. the Nurses, Midwives and Health Visitors Act 1997
What do you think are broad characteristics or traits that distinguish being a professional?
Write your answers here and then discuss with your facilitator.
Broad characteristics and traits of professionals
Knowledge based on theory and substantively complex techniques
Mastery of knowledge that requires long period of University based training that socialises trainees into the culture and symbols of the profession
Tasks that speak to relevant and key social values that are inherently valuable to societies
Practitioners that are oriented towards clients welfare and service to the profession
Task performance characterised by a high degree of autonomy
Practitioners that exhibit long-term commitment to their work
Practitioners who enjoy a well-developed sense of community
Well developed code of ethics that guides practitioner behaviour and defines the professions core values.
Another viewpoint
Professionals
are licensed by the state to perform a certain act
belong to an organisation of similarly enfranchised agents who promulgate standard and/or ideals of behaviour and who discipline one another for breaching these standards
possess so-called esoteric knowledge or skills not shared by other members of the community
exercise autonomy over their work, work which is not well understood by the larger community
Publicly pledge themselves to render assistance to those in need and as a consequence have special responsibilities or duties not incumbent upon others.
Key question: What does esoteric mean?
Discuss the difference of a regulatory body and a professional body with your colleagues?
What are their main functions?
Make notes below
Make notes and discuss with your facilitator.
Health & care professions council: http://www.hcpc-uk.org/
Nursing & Midwifery Council: https://www.nmc.org.uk/
General Medical Council: http://www.gmc-uk.org/
The main guiding principle of the regulatory body is PROTECTION OF THE PUBLIC
Both influence
Setting and monitoring of standards of education and training for practice
Setting and maintaining Codes of Practice supported by current clinical research and development
Protecting patients through registration and regulatory mechanisms
Supporting, guiding and representing the profession and its members
Define the following terms. Can you give examples? Why is it important as a Newly Registered Professional you know these terms?
Accountability
Responsibility
Vicarious liability
Negligence
The Bolam Test
Discuss your answers with your facilitator
Accountability
Accountability is the obligation of being answerable for ones own judgements and actions to an appropriate person or authority recognized as having the right to demand information and explanation, according to terms of reference of the Code of Conduct. A registered practitioner is accountable for his/her actions as a professional at all times, on or off duty, whether engaged in current practice or not
Oxford Dictionary of Nursing, 5th Edition (2008)
4 arenas of accountability
Self: Sense of right and wrong
Legal: Civil/Criminal law
Professional: Code of Conduct
Employer: Contract of employment
Responsibility
An NHS Trust or employer has two forms of liability in negligence - direct & vicarious
Direct - the Trust is at fault
Vicarious - the Trust is responsible for the faults of others, mainly its employees
Vicarious liability
An NHS Trust or employer has two forms of liability in negligence - direct & vicarious
Direct - the Trust is at fault
Vicarious - the Trust is responsible for the faults of others, mainly its employees
Negligence
Negligence is a failure on the part of one person to take reasonable care which causes foreseeable damage to another
To succeed in a claim of negligence a patient must:
Establish that a DUTY OF CARE existed between a patient and a professional
Show that there was FAILURE to carry out the DUTY OF CARE
Prove that HARM resulted from this failure
Convince a court that if she/he had known the risk they would not have consented (Causation)
Bolam Test
Courts and Professional Conduct Committees must decide whether your actions were reasonable. The case of Bolam v. Friern Hospital Management Committee (1957) produced a test for what is reasonable;
Mr. Justice McNair in the Bolam Case
The doctor would not be liable in negligenceif he has acted in accordance with a practice accepted as proper by a responsible body of medical men skilled in that particular art. Putting it the other way round
