Ethical reasoning in baccalaureate nursing students.

Full Abstract

Nurses are encountering an increasing number of ethical dilemmas in clinical practice. Ethics courses for baccalaureate nursing students provide the opportunity for the development of critical thinking skills in order to deal with these effectively. The purpose of this descriptive qualitative study was to describe ethical reasoning in 70 baccalaureate nursing students enrolled in a nursing ethics course. Reflective clinical journals were analyzed as appropriate for qualitative inquiry. The overriding theme emerging from the data was 'in the process of becoming', which includes: practicing as a professional, lacking the confidence as a student nurse to take an ethical stand, advocating for patients, being just in the provision of care, identifying the spiritual dimensions of nursing practice, confronting the 'real world' of health care, making a commitment to practice with integrity, and caring enough to care. The development of critical thinking and ethical reasoning within the framework of knowing and connecting is essential in nursing education.

Author information

Author/s: Callister, Lynn Clark (LC); Luthy, Karlen E (KE); Thompson, Pam (P); Memmott, Rae Jeanne (RJ);

Affiliation: Brigham Young University College of Nursing, Provo, UT 84602, USA. lynn_callister(-atsign-)byu.edu

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article

Journal: Nursing ethics (Nurs Ethics), published in England. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2009-Jul; vol 16 (issue 4) : pp 499-510

Dates: Created 2009/06/16; Completed 2009/09/25;

PMID: 19528105, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 9/25/2009, IMS Date: )

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

External Links for this article
(including full text providers, if available):

Click Electronic Full-text Provider Links to see options for finding the electronic full text links to this article. Note there may be a subscription or fee required for access to the full text. See our FAQ for information on finding FREE full text articles.

This article may also be located in paper journal collections available in many libraries. Use the Journal and Publication Information above to find the full article.