Professional curiosity

Professional curiosity is looking, listening, asking questions, checking out information, and reflecting on information received. It means being curious and seeking clarity around a situation, bringing together information from different sources to gain a better understanding of a person’s circumstances and level of risk.

Applying professional curiosity can help practitioners to identify the less obvious signs of abuse and neglect.

A recurring theme within Derbyshire Safeguarding Adult Reviews (SARs) is a need for professional curiosity to be applied when safeguarding adults who have care and support needs.

Key principles of professional curiosity:

• do not make assumptions
• have an awareness of your own personal bias and how may affect the way you view a set of circumstances.
• remain open minded
• obtain information from different sources rather than taking information from one source at face value
• ensure you have an understanding of the person's past history
• ask clear questions in a respectful manner
• challenge the information you are being given if contradicts with what you have seen