Professional Duty of Candour Flashcards

A nurse administers a medication to the wrong patient who is then transferred before any adverse effects appear. The original patient is later discharged. What should the nurse do?

Answer: Contact the patient after discharge to disclose the incident and offer an apology

The duty of candour persists even after patient discharge; the nurse must still contact the patient to disclose the incident and apologize.

The NMC's duty of candour is most closely aligned with which section of the NMC Code?

Answer: Promote professionalism and trust

The duty of candour falls under 'Promote professionalism and trust' in the NMC Code, requiring registrants to act with honesty and integrity.

If a patient explicitly says they do not want to know the details of what went wrong, a nurse should:

Answer: Respect the patient's wishes but ensure their representative is informed and document the patient's decision

Patient autonomy must be respected; if a patient declines full details, the nurse should inform their representative and document the patient's expressed preference.

In the context of the duty of candour, 'being open' means:

Answer: Communicating honestly with patients about what occurred and its impact on their care

Being open means communicating honestly and transparently about what happened, the effect on the patient's care, and what is being done to address it.

A newly qualified nurse witnesses a senior colleague downplaying a medication error to a patient. The junior nurse feels intimidated. What is the MOST appropriate action?

Answer: Raise the concern with a line manager or through the organization's raising concerns process

All nurses regardless of seniority must raise concerns when the duty of candour is not being fulfilled, using the organization's formal raising concerns channels.

When documenting a patient safety incident for duty of candour purposes, a nurse should record:

Answer: What happened, what was disclosed to the patient, the patient's response, and follow-up actions agreed

Comprehensive documentation of the incident, disclosure conversation, patient response, and agreed actions is required to fulfill the duty of candour properly.

Which of the following scenarios would MOST clearly require fulfillment of the duty of candour?

Answer: A patient develops a wound infection that may have been caused by a breach in sterile technique

A potential breach in sterile technique causing a wound infection is a patient safety incident that directly triggers the duty of candour.