Background Ethics positions, consisting of the two fundamental dimensions of idealism and relativism, influence individuals’ decision-making significantly. Particularly in an applied field such as nursing, the ethics positions of nurses can play a significant role in clinical decisions. Therefore, it is important to know the factors affecting the ethics positions of nurses in clinical decision-making. Aim The aim of the study is to examine the factors affecting the ethics positions of nursing students in clinical decision-making. Research design This is a (...) two-phase sequential explanatory mixed methods study designed in accordance with the COREQ criteria. A participant Information Form and the Ethics Position Questionnaire were used to collect quantitative data. Qualitative data were obtained through focus group interviews. Ethical considerations This study was conducted after receiving written permission from X University Ethics Board. Additionally, permission was obtained from the participating nursing faculty. Participants Among the fourth-year nursing students, 180 students participated in the quantitative phase and 30 students in the qualitative phase of the study. Results The quantitative data analysis showed that the idealism sub-dimension mean scores of the participants were higher than the relativism sub-dimension mean scores. The analysis of the qualitative data resulted in four main themes that influence participants’ ethics positions in clinical decision-making: (1) attitudes of role models in clinical practice (staff nurses/mentors/lecturers), (2) resources related to clinical practice (labs, hospitals/classrooms), (3) health system (hospital policies/school policies), and (4) personal differences (act with emotion/act with logic). Conclusion The results showed that the health system, role models in the clinic, personal differences, and skill-related resources affect the ethics positions of nursing students in clinical decision-making. In this regard, awareness can be raised by providing training to nursing students by academic instructors on ethics positions and the factors that are determined to affect ethics positions in clinical decision-making. (shrink)

Background: Moral philosophical positions and professional values have been shown to influence nurses’ practice behaviours. Understanding nursing students’ professional values and ethical ideologies, therefore, is important as they may help inform evidence-informed curriculum decisions and education strategies to develop students’ professional reflective competencies. However, there is a dearth in current empirical data on Canadian nursing students’ perceptions of professional values and ethical positions. Objectives: This study’s purpose was to examine undergraduate nursing student’s perceptions of professional values and ethical ideology and (...) explore relationships in data and selected participant demographic variables. Research design, participants and context: A descriptive cross-sectional research design was conducted with a convenience sample of undergraduate nursing students recruited from a university in Canada. An online encrypted survey consisting of two validated instruments was administered to participants who met study eligibility criteria. Descriptive and inferential statistics were employed to analyse the data and classify nursing students’ ethical ideologies into four categories based on mean scores for idealism and relativism. Ethical considerations: This study received ethical approval from the institutional Behavioural Research Ethics Board and was executed in-line with ethical principles for research involving humans. Findings: Nursing students scored high on professional values and ethical idealism and differed significantly on a measure of ethical relativism in terms of age and year of study. Professional values were significantly associated with ethical idealism. Based on mean scores for idealism and relativism, most nursing students in the study were classified as situationists. Discussion and conclusion: Findings suggest that faculty pay attention to influences of moral philosophical positions in facilitating nursing students’ professional values development. Implications for future research and curriculum are highlighted to strengthen nursing students’ professional values. (shrink)

Background Nurses are challenged with many situations that require them to solve ethical dilemmas and make moral decisions based on professional values and a sense of accountability and responsibility. To support their decisions, it is important to know how they perceive and relate their ethical ideology, professional values, and clinical accountability in their workplace. Purpose The study’s aim was twofold: to investigate the ethical ideology and perceived importance of professional values and accountability among nurses. Further, explore the relationship between each (...) of ethical ideology and professional values with nurses’ work accountability. Methods A correlational study was conducted in an Egyptian hospital. All nurses were invited to participate = 192, and 150 nurses (78.3%) completed the study questionnaires. The Ethical Position Questionnaire, the Professional Values Scale, and the Clinical Vignettes Assessment for Clinical Accountability were proven to be reliable study measures. Ethical considerations Ethics Committee approval, written informed consent, data privacy and confidentiality, and participants’ right to voluntary participation and withdrawal were maintained. Results Nurses showed good ethical ideology (75 ± 6.2) and are more idealistic while maintaining professional values (108 ± 10.8). Most nurses believed they were accountable for documenting errors, completing incident reports, and calling physicians to discuss or manage the situations. Ethical ideology and the idealism subscale were positively correlated with overall nurses’ professional values (r = 0.321, p < 0.004, r =0.464, p 0.000), respectively. On the other hand, work accountability showed a partial correlation in some areas with ethical ideology and professional values. Discussion Professional values and nurses' accountability appear to be influenced by ethical positions and ideology. Conclusion Healthcare organizations should provide a supportive work environment to help nurses develop self-awareness, and knowledge of their ethical ideologies, which improve professional values and clinical accountability in their practice. Ethical ideology and professional values should be emphasized more in nursing curricula. (shrink)