ABSTRACT
The terms professional and professionalism are used widely within the midwifery literature and help shape the roles and responsibilities of midwives within both their work and personal lives. The National Health Service (NHS) Constitution2 was developed to specify the rights that the public have when using the NHS and sets out a list of principles that guide the NHS and govern the way that it operates. A central tenet of these principles is that patients should be treated with a professional
standard of care by appropriately qualified and experienced professionals.
