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

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...

I would like to use this platform to review the American Nurses Association (ANA) new Code of Ethics for Nurses , "the Code " (2025). The background here is that I attended the 2015 ANA Ethics Symposium, where the ANA dubbed 2015 as the Year of Ethics . Attending that conference was pivotal for me.  Up to that point, in my dissertation, I was struggling with how to approach my literature review and study. That conference gave me great clarity and inspiration.  I worked through that conference, and continued to work once arriving home, on my dissertation topic of ethics in nursing. Now ten years later, I am excited to say that I just received my 2025 updated Code  in the mail.   My plan is to review the updated Code in sections over time. I also intend to draw parallels between the Code and my ethics model, The Siciliano-McLaughlin Model of Ethics .    The ANA states, "The Code of Ethics for Nurses (Code) establishes the ethical standard for the profes...

     Last week, when discussing ethics with prelicensure students, I had my ethics model posted.  As always, I spoke to the themes of my study and its representation in my model.  I also reviewed some ethical situations that the participants in my study discussed with me. As we spoke about each situation, we examined it through the lens of the themes. A student asked me more about the central framework of authenticity. Today, I want to think about authenticity in response to our discussion about the central framework.  The literature says that an authentic existence consists of three characteristics. The person needs to be fully aware of the present moment. The person lives in the moment by choosing how to live one’s life. The person needs to take responsibility for the choice (Corey, 1982).       These concepts lead back to, and support, Dewey’s (1909/2008) work regarding intellectual development leading to a sense of good judgment....