Professional Duty of Candour Flashcards
7 cards from real NMC practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Professional Duty of Candour flashcards as text
Which of the following BEST distinguishes the professional duty of candour from the statutory duty of candour?
Answer: The professional duty applies to individual registrants; the statutory duty applies to healthcare organizations
The professional duty of candour applies to individual NMC registrants, while the statutory duty (under the Health and Social Care Act) applies to the organization as a whole.
A nurse is pressured by a manager not to disclose an error to a patient because the organization fears legal action. What should the nurse do?
Answer: Maintain their professional duty of candour and disclose, escalating the pressure as a concern
A nurse's professional duty of candour cannot be overridden by managerial pressure; they must disclose and raise the suppression as a safeguarding concern.
After a notifiable safety incident, the NMC requires that an apology and explanation be provided:
Answer: Verbally as soon as practicable, followed by a written summary
The NMC duty of candour requires an initial verbal apology and explanation as soon as possible, followed by a written summary.
A nurse notices a colleague made an error that harmed a patient but the colleague has not disclosed it. The observing nurse should:
Answer: Encourage the colleague to disclose and, if not, raise the concern themselves
Nurses have a responsibility to support colleagues in fulfilling candour obligations and to escalate if a colleague fails to disclose a patient safety incident.
Which patient group requires SPECIAL consideration when fulfilling the duty of candour according to NMC guidance?
Answer: Patients who lack capacity to understand the disclosure
When a patient lacks capacity, disclosure should be made to their representative or next of kin, adapting communication to meet the patient's needs.
Which of the following is a known BARRIER to fulfilling the duty of candour that the NMC acknowledges?
Answer: Fear of disciplinary action, blame culture, or litigation concerns
The NMC recognizes that blame culture, fear of punishment, and litigation concerns are significant barriers that prevent open disclosure.
Under the duty of candour, what information must be shared with the patient following a safety incident?
Answer: The facts known about the incident, an apology, and what is being done to prevent recurrence
Patients are entitled to know what happened, to receive an apology, and to hear what steps are being taken to prevent the same incident from recurring.