Morality and Ethics in Nursing

Morality and Ethics in Nursing

• Morality: Culturally defined beliefs about right and wrong.
• Ethics: Systemic study of morality.
• Ethical theory: Study of ethical principles for applying to moral problems.
• Biomedical ethics: Ethical questions in healthcare.
• Nursing ethics: Moral issues in nursing practice, including nurse-patient relationships, nurse character, and nurses as moral agents.

Ethical Dilemmas

• Ethical dilemmas occur when:
  • The best course of action is unclear
  • Strong moral reasons support conflicting positions
  • Choosing the least wrong option is necessary
• Nurses face high risk for moral distress.
  • Moral distress results from unaddressed ethical issues.
  • It occurs when nurses cannot act on what they believe is right.
  • Consequences include emotional strain, anger, powerlessness.
  • This distress often results from lack of support.

Ethical Theory Development

• Ethical theory evolved to include emotional factors, caring, and relationships.
• Nursing-specific ethical theories emerged, integrating concepts like caring and compassion.

Factors Influencing Morality

• Social norms, beliefs, expectations
• Gender, age, personal characteristics
• Context of the situation, previous experiences
• Potential outcomes/consequences of actions

Values in Canadian Society

• Canadian values include freedom, health, fairness, honesty, and integrity.
• These values are evident in Canadian laws, professional codes, charter rights, and the health care system.

Value Conflicts

• Value conflicts arise when personal actions or others' actions contradict individual values.
• Conflicts occur when professionals disagree on managing a situation.
• Conflicts can lead to moral distress.

Value Clarification

• Value clarification helps understand personal and others' values.
• The process requires reflection, discussion, active listening, and respect.

Non-Normative Approaches to Ethics

• Descriptive ethics: Analyzing morality without taking a moral position.
• Meta-ethics: Focus on the meaning of ethical terms and statements.
• Normative ethics: Attempts to define what is right or wrong.

Normative Ethical Theories

• Frameworks for determining right versus wrong.
• Provide principles to guide actions.
• Include historical and modern theories.
• Often rooted in Indigenous moral traditions.

Modern/Contemporary Nursing Ethical Theories

• Principle-based ethics, social justice theories, feminist ethics, and nursing ethics of care.

Principle-Based Ethics

• Ethical principles are expressed in codes of ethics.
• Principles guide moral conduct, decision-making, and maintaining consistent positions.

Ethical Principles

• Autonomy: Respecting self-determination of competent individuals.
• Fidelity: Loyalty, truthfulness, and promise-keeping. This is foundational for the nurse-patient relationship.
• Nonmaleficence: Avoidance of harm.
• Beneficence: Doing good and promoting well-being.
• Justice: Fairness and equity in treatment of persons and groups
  • Distributive justice: Fair allocation of benefits and burdens
  • Compensatory justice: Compensation for harm
  • Social justice: Equity, opportunity, and privilege within society

Virtue Ethics

• Emphasizes moral character.
• Assesses the virtues of the decision-maker.
• Assumes virtuous persons tend to make good choices.
• Nurses possess demonstrable virtues.

Teleological Theories

• Focuses on outcomes and consequences.
• Judgments based on a theory of value.
• Utilitarianism: Maximizing good and minimizing harm for the greatest number.

Narrative Ethics

• Focuses on the human experience, or story and meaning.

Explore the key concepts of morality and ethics specifically in the nursing field. This quiz delves into ethical dilemmas nurses face, the evolution of ethical theory, and the implications of moral distress in nursing practice. Test your understanding of how ethical principles apply to real-life scenarios in healthcare.