Ethics and Ethical Standards for Nurses and Midwives

About this course

Nurses, midwives and nursing associates spend more time with patients and families than any other professionals, often at the most vulnerable moments of their lives. They make ethical decisions constantly: how to respect a person's choice that carries risk, when to share information, how to respond when care falls short, what to do when staffing makes safe care difficult, and how to support a woman's choices in labour. The Nursing and Midwifery Council's Code sets out the professional standards that guide these decisions.

This course applies the core ethical principles to nursing and midwifery practice. It explains the NMC's role and the Code, ethics in midwifery, consent and capacity, confidentiality, honesty and candour, records, raising concerns, conscientious objection, communication, professional boundaries, and how the NMC responds when standards are breached.

CPD Value and How to Record It:

This course is designed to provide approximately 2 hours of learning, including reading, the reflection points, the reflective account and the assessment. In the UK, CPD is generally recorded as the time actually spent learning, so you should record the time you genuinely spend, which may be more or less than the estimate.

How the course fits your revalidation or CPD requirements depends on your regulator. For example, the NMC asks nurses, midwives and nursing associates to record 35 hours of CPD over three years, of which at least 20 must be participatory; self-directed online learning such as this course usually counts as individual learning unless you complete it with others. The GMC expects doctors to reflect on CPD for appraisal and revalidation rather than setting a fixed number of hours. The HCPC, GDC, GPhC, GOC, GOsC and GCC each set their own CPD requirements, so check the current rules that apply to you. Always keep your certificate together with your written reflection.

What you will learn

• Explain why ethics is central to nursing and midwifery practice.
• Describe the NMC's role and the structure of the Code.
• Apply autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence, justice and confidentiality to care.
• Support informed choice, including in maternity care, and assess capacity.
• Act with honesty and candour, keep accurate records and raise concerns.
• Understand the limits of conscientious objection and maintain boundaries.
• Respond to breaches with reflection and remediation.

Who this course is for

Registered nurses, midwives and nursing associates in all settings, including those responding to a concern.

Course content

9 sections · 2 CPD hours · 15 MCQs

Course facts

CPD value

Approximately 2 CPD hours (estimated learning time, including reflection and assessment); counts towards the 35 hours of CPD required for NMC revalidation

Format

Self-paced reading with nursing and midwifery case studies, reflection points and a written reflective account

Standards covered

NMC The Code; NMC guidance on raising concerns, social media and fitness to practise; professional duty of candour; Mental Capacity Act 2005; conscientious objection law; key maternity safety reports

Assessment

15 scenario-based multiple-choice questions; pass mark 12 out of 15 (80%)

Questions about this course