The Ethical Nurse by Mary Ann Siciliano McLaughlin Ed.D, MSN, RN

When I was a junior faculty member, I often wondered what caused some nursing students to act ethically, while others participated in breaches in integrity.  Breaches in integrity, in nursing students, or any students for that matter, can include, for example, cheating on exams, or cheating on assignments by plagiarizing their work. Furthermore, I worried that these breeches in integrity during schooling would lead to breaches in their nursing practice once they graduated and began their professional careers.  My dissertation,   The Experience of Accelerated Nursing Program Graduates Utilizing Ethics in Their Nursing Practice , addresses these concerns.  McLaughlin, M. A. S. (2016).  The experience of accelerated nursing program graduates utilizing ethics  in their nursing practice  (Publication No. 10195870) [Doctoral dissertation, Columbia University]. ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global.    Abstract:  This study, based on hermene...

"Provision 2: A nurse's primary commitment is to the recipient(s) of nursing care, whether an individual, family, group, community, or population" (ANA, 2025, p. 5).  ANA Code of Ethics for Nurses According to the 2025 edition of the Code of Ethics for Nurses, this provision includes four areas: a primary commitment to recipients of nursing care; conflicts of interest and conflicts of commitment in nursing; professional boundaries; and issues of safety in the nurse-patient relationship (pp. 5-7). My dissertation,  The experience of accelerated nursing program graduates utilizing ethics in their nursing practice   Reading through this provision made me think of an example from my doctoral research. As written in my dissertation (McLaughlin, 2016) on pages 62-63:   Catherine mentioned breaches in integrity such as students cheating in her accelerated program to achieve good grades, and a clinical faculty member breaking technique.  This faculty member broke s...

Ethical Infractions  So as educators in university settings, we have been bogged down with all sorts of end of semester grading. This grading may include, but is not limited to, grading of discussion boards, papers, and projects; and administering final examinations. While it is great to witness growth in our students over the course of the semester, it is sometimes fraught with breaches in integrity. Students, especially students that are worried about passing on to the next semester, will commit infractions just to be able to survive in their nursing program. This is not a problem unique to one school or one group of students. Rather, it has prevalence across schools, programs, and students.  The Siciliano-McLaughlin Model of Ethics This leads me back to my model of ethics, The Siciliano-McLaughlin Model of Ethics . Every time I teach about ethics and the use of my model, I challenge the students to look at the model and choose an area of concentration. In the case of ethica...

I am very excited to present my first guest blog written by a dear colleague. Today's guest blog author is Dr. Lynn Stover Nichols . We met quite a few years ago through, our involvement with, the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) Faculty Leadership Network (FLN). We bonded early on through our love of ethics and nursing education.  BIO for Dr. Lynn Stover Nichols PhD, RN, PED-BC, SANE, ANEF Dr. Lynn Stover Nichols PhD, RN, PED-BC, SANE, ANEF, is an Associate Professor of Nursing at Boise State University in Boise, Idaho. Her nursing education experience spans several decades and includes both undergraduate and graduate programs. She implemented the  Ethics Café  program for two years at the University of Alabama at Birmingham as an Honors College Faculty Fellow, where she taught a Freshman Honors Seminar, Ethical Issues in Women’s Health. The Case for Ethics in Nursing Education The nature of the work of the registered nurse provides limitless opport...

 ANA Code of Ethics for Nurses 2025  Provision 1: The nurse practices with compassion and respect for the inherent dignity, worth, and unique attributes of every person.  The post today will focus on the  inherent dignity of patients. This idea of dignity came through loud and clear in the stories told to me by nurses while completing phenomenological interviews for my dissertation research. The nurses I interviewed spoke about treating patients with dignity, especially in the face of death. (Please refer to my ethics model below the post.)  One story that stuck out to me was from a nurse that stayed in the room talking with a patient while working night shift.  This patient had cancer and was out of all viable treatment options. The only choice now was to be a part of a new drug trial.  The patient did not want to do the trial, but his wife and daughter wanted him to, as his daughter was scheduled to get married the following year. They so desperatel...

ANA Code of Ethics for Nurses 2025  Provision 1: The nurse practices with compassion and respect for the inherent dignity, worth, and unique attributes of every person.  1.1 Respect for Human Dignity  This part of Provision 1 views human dignity as a fundamental principle which underlies all nursing practice.  All patients deserve dignity and respect. "The nurse is additionally committed to creating and sustaining an ethical environment where the nurse-patient relationship can flourish" (ANA, 2025, p.1).  So much of what we do as nurses is to support our patients in this environment where patients are capable of flourishing or growing. As nurses, we are taught to respect everyone regardless of their background, gender, race, socioeconomic class, political affiliation etc. The ANA also speaks about allyship in this Provision.                       Allyship is an ethical duty that requires inten...