Background: While nursing ethics education is commonly provided for undergraduate nursing students in most nursing colleges, consensus on the content and teaching modules for these ethics courses have still not been established. Objectives: This study aimed to examine the effects of nursing ethics education on the moral sensitivity and critical thinking disposition of nursing students in Korea. Research design: A one-group pre- and post-test design was used. Moral sensitivity was measured using the Korean version of the Moral Sensitivity Questionnaire. Critical (...) thinking disposition was measured using the Critical Thinking Disposition Questionnaire. Participants and research context: Participants were 70 undergraduate nursing students who were attending a university located in Seoul, Korea. The nursing ethics education was provided 7 times, from September to December 2010, and comprised 90-min sessions each week. Ethical considerations: This study was conducted in accordance with the Human Subject Research Ethics Committee guidelines. Findings: After the education, the levels for the patient-oriented care, a sub-domain of moral sensitivity, and inquisitiveness, a sub-domain of critical thinking disposition, significantly improved. There were no changes in overall scores for moral sensitivity and critical thinking disposition. There were significant positive correlations between moral sensitivity and critical thinking disposition both pre- and post-intervention. Conclusion: These results reflect the need for ongoing efforts to develop innovative content, structure, and instructional methods for undergraduate nursing ethics education programs. (shrink)

This study examined the validity and reliability of a Turkish version of the Modified Moral Sensitivity Questionnaire for Student Nurses. After obtaining permission to adapt the MMSQSN into Turkish, the translation/back-translation method was used with expert opinions to determine content validity. Factor analysis was conducted to examine the construct validity and test–retest was performed on the questionnaire to determine reliability. Cronbach’s alpha coefficients were calculated to assess for internal consistency. Participants included 272 baccalaureate degree student nurses who took ethics lessons (...) prior to their clinical internship. The factor analysis revealed that even though the factor structure in the original scale was the same, relevant items were categorized with similar components, and factor loads were sufficient. The correlation coefficient in the analyses of test–retest scores was.66 for the total scale and the Cronbach’s alpha was.73 for the total scale. The translated MMSQSN is a valid and reliable measure of ethical sensitivity in student nurses in Turkey. (shrink)

This study describes the level of moral sensitivity among nursing students enrolled in a traditional baccalaureate nursing program and a master’s nursing program. Survey responses to the Modified Moral Sensitivity Questionnaire for Student Nurses from 250 junior, senior, and graduate students from one nursing school were analyzed. It was not possible to draw conclusions based on the tool. Moral category analysis showed students ranked the category structuring moral meaning highest and interpersonal orientation second. The moral issue ranking highest was honesty, (...) respect for the patient second, and third was responsibility to know the patient’s situation. Seniors agreed more often about the need to focus on patient safety. As students progress through the baccalaureate program and into the graduate program, their perspectives increasingly recognize the contextuality of moral issues. The results show a need to further develop a tool to measure moral sensitivity, using student understanding and perceptions of moral issues. (shrink)

This meta-analysis synthesizes quantitative findings of the gender differences in moral sensitivity retrieved from 19 primary studies. We found the average effect size of 0.25, favoring women, with a standard deviation of 0.14. The variation in the observed effect sizes could not be attributed to differences in participants' educational level, the utilized measure of moral sensitivity, or the publication format in which the study was reported. This suggests that gender differences in moral sensitivity are consistent across different levels of participants' (...) education regardless of the instrument used to assess moral sensitivity or the format in which the research was reported. (shrink)

INTRODUCTION[|]This study was conducted to find out the association between ethical sensitivities of nursing students and their attitudes towards recording and protecting personal health data. [¤]METHODS[|]The population of this descriptive study consists of 514 nursing students studying at nursing department of a university during 2019-2020 academic year spring term and the sample of the study consists of 412 students. Descriptive Information Form prepared by the researchers in line with the literature, Ethical Sensitivity Questionnaire for Nursing Students (ESQ-NS) and Attitude Scale (...) for Recording and Protecting Personal Health Data for Nursing Students (ASRPPHDNS) were used as data collection instruments. [¤]RESULTS[|]Results: 44.4% of the students stated that they encountered ethical problems in clinical practices and 89.3% stated that care was taken in recording and protecting personal health data in clinical practices. It was found that average total score of ESQ-NS was 4.92+-0.57 and average total score of ASRPPHDNS was 130.28+-17.38. Statistically significant association was found between students' gender and average ethical sensitivity and attitude for recording and protecting personal health data scores and it was found to be positive for female students. A positive moderately significant association was found between average ESQ-NS total scores and ASRPPHDNS total scores (r=0.421, **p<0.000). [¤]DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION[|]As a result of the study, it was found that students had moderate level of ethical sensitivity and high attitudes towards recording and protecting patients' personal health data.[¤]. (shrink)

As future providers of health services, nursing students should learn about ethical concepts over the course of their education. These concepts are currently taught in nursing schools, yet the degree of moral sensitivity in nursing students before entering clinical settings is a topic of controversy. This was a cross-sectional study on the nursing students studying for a bachelor’s degree in Qazvin University of Medical Sciences selected through census sampling. Data were collected by Lutzen's Moral Sensitivity Questionnaire and analyzed through statistical (...) tests using SPSS 16. The level of significance was P < 0.05. In order to conduct the study, permission was obtained from the Ethics Committee of Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences.The mean of moral sensitivity was found to be 66.1 + 8.1, which is a moderate level. Of all the dimensions of moral sensitivity, "expressing benevolence" had the highest and "structuring moral sense" had the lowest mean scores. Among demographic variables, age was found to have a significant positive correlation with the score of moral sensitivity.Nursing students are relatively familiar with the ethical concepts of patient care, but that does not seem to be sufficed, as moral sensitivity is an extremely crucial factor in care. It is therefore recommended that the necessary training be provided to develop moral sensitivity in nursing students both in educational and practical environments. (shrink)

Background and aim: Surgical intensive care nurses should have ethical sensitivity allowing them to identify ethical issues in order that they can recognize them and make the right decisions. This descriptive study was conducted with the aim of evaluating the ethical sensitivity of surgical intensive care nurses. Materials and methods: The research was carried out with the participation of 160 nurses in six Turkish hospitals, four state, one university, and one private. The data were collected using the “Nurse Description Form” (...) developed by the researcher and the “Ethical Sensitivity Questionnaire.” The percent, mean, standard deviation, median, minimum and maximum values, significance test for the difference between two means, variance analysis, Mann–Whitney U test, and Kruskal–Wallis Variance Analysis test were used to evaluate the data. Ethical considerations: Ethical commission permission and the corporate permission of the hospitals were received before conducting the research. Results: It was determined that the ethical sensitivities of surgical intensive care nurses were moderate based on the Ethical Sensitivity Questionnaire total score and subdimension score averages. A statistical difference was determined between the Ethical Sensitivity Questionnaire total score of surgical intensive care nurses and the institution where they worked, the period of working in the occupation, and the period of working in the intensive care unit (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Based on the results of the research, the organization of training and studies devoted to the elimination of ethical sensitivity differences between institutions and workers is suggested. (shrink)

Background: Students’ gaining and adopting basic professional values, improving their emotional intelligence skills during the process of nursing education plays a significant role on meeting the needs of healthy/patient individual and his or her family, and individualized care practices. Objectives: This (descriptive, correlational) research was carried out to evaluate the nursing values, emotional intelligence levels, and individualized care perceptions of senior nursing students and to determine the relationship between them. Research question: (1) What is the status of students to adopt (...) nursing values? (2) What is the level of students’ emotional intelligence? (3) What is the students’ individualized care perception? (4) Is there a relationship between students’ nursing values, levels of emotional intelligence, and individualized perceptions of care? Participants and research context: The research was carried out with 218 senior nursing students at the Faculty of Nursing, affiliated to a state university in Istanbul, who agreed to participate in the study, completing basic nursing education in May 2017. Ethical considerations: Ethical approval for this study was obtained from the Ethics Committee of Clinical Investigations of the Istanbul University Dentistry Faculty. Written permission was also obtained from the institution that research would be conducted. Before the data were collected, verbal permission was obtained by the investigator. Findings: It was observed that nursing values perceptions of students, emotional intelligence levels and individualized care perceptions were at a good level and there was a supportive relationship between them in the positive direction. It was determined that emotional intelligence skills of students, adoption of nursing values and individualized care perceptions increased in parallel with each other. Conclusion: In nursing education, nursing values peculiar to affective field, caring behaviors, and emotional intelligence skills that are guiding to maintain and direct these behaviors should be gained to students by supporting with correct learning methods and role models. (shrink)

Background: Ethical sensitivity has been identified as a foundational component of ethical action. Diminished or absent ethical sensitivity can result in ethically incongruent care, which is inconsistent with the professional obligations of nursing. As such, assessing ethical sensitivity is imperative in order to design interventions to facilitate ethical practice and to ensure nurses recognize the nature and extent of professional ethical obligations. Aim: To review and critique the state of the science of nurse ethical sensitivity and to synthesize findings across (...) studies. Research design: Whittemore and Knafl’s revised framework for integrative reviews guided the analysis. Research context and data sources: A comprehensive, computer-assisted search of literature published in Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature and PubMed was performed. A systematic approach was used to extract, reduce, and synthesize the data. Findings: Four major conceptualizations of ethical sensitivity emerged from the literature. A sample of 25 reports met inclusion criteria, including 17 empirical reports and 8 theoretical reports. Discussion: Despite the existence of a concept analysis and a validated tool, ethical sensitivity remains a highly theoretical concept with multiple, and at times competing, conceptualizations. Ethical sensitivity has been assessed extensively in the context of ethical dilemmas; however, little attention has been paid to the way the concept operates in day-to-day practice. Conclusion: Future research should focus on better ways to operationalize and assess the concept, with particular attention to nurse awareness of the ethical content of everyday practice. (shrink)