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

My love for nursing began as a surgical cardiothoracic stepdown nurse many years ago.  I always say I loved cardiac nursing because of the fast-paced environment.  I loved that I could treat patients quickly (give them a shock or push a medication) and could follow up with teaching. My goal was to always promote patient learning so they could achieve behavioral changes and manage their disease more fully.  After being educated as a Cardiopulmonary Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS), I went on to move into CNS, Disease Management, and Telehealth program founder positions. Always, my focus was on the clinical side of nursing. At one point, I was even a Professional Development Specialist. In that position, we were responsible for certain educational programs, at the hospital, developing competencies and competency books. In addition to those duties, we supported two to three units at the hospital.  I switched to academia full time in 2011 and have remained there since. I ...

The Theory of Nursing Professional Identity Formation Model. © Mary Ann Siciliano McLaughlin 2026.  The purpose of this post is to introduce a new middle-range nursing theory called The Theory of Nursing Professional Identity Formation . This middle-range theory builds upon previous seminal theoretical and conceptual work in nursing to better explain what it means to “think, act and feel like a nurse” within a healthy work culture throughout their career. Establishing this theory allows for consistency in the education, practice and lifelong learning of nurses. The theory begins with the four components of the traditional nursing metaparadigm. The best way to approach this model is from the top left corner at person and proceed clockwise. See Figure 3 for the model that accompanies this theory.    The person is someone whose vision of nursing is based upon the concept of social identity and societal norms they have learned throughout their life. This future nurse is ...

I am happy to share that my article introducing the new middle-range theory, The Theory of Nursing Professional Identity Formation, is now published online in the Journal of Research in Nursing.  https://doi.org/10.1177/17449871261485854 Reference: McLaughlin MAS. The theory of nursing professional identity formation. Journal of Research in Nursing . 2026;0(0). doi: 10.1177/17449871261485854

If interested, please check out the international webinar happening tomorrow by the International Society for Professional Identity in Nursing.  The webinar will be live and recorded so if you cannot attend during the hours of 9:00 AM EST and 1:15 PM EST tomorrow, you will be able to listen to the recording. There will be very crucial conversations and information being presented tomorrow.   Her is the link with additional information regarding the program, speakers, and registration. Thank you! Symp26- Home | Advance Nursing Professional Identity Today — International Society for Professional Identity in Nursing

"Part of professionalism is accountability, accountability to your actions and the outcomes of those actions." (Mary Ann Siciliano McLaughlin, 2018)      I always speak to my nursing students about accountability while imparting my tagline.  I tell them that everyone, as a nurse, has a choice in the actions they take. I warn them that they need to be accountable to those actions and the outcomes of those actions.  They cannot say if something does not go well, as a result of their actions, "oh well, I'll do better next time". Rather, they have to see the outcome and decide the next best course of action.  So, if something they did, results in an outcome they did not expect, or an outcome that is harmful to the patient then they need to decide what action needs to be taken next to either resolve the issue or monitor the situation to minimize patient harm. I do tell my students, as nurses, the intention is never to harm patients. Rather, situations change or ...

Attached you will find a brief recording I made regarding my model of ethics, The Siciliano-McLaughlin Model of Ethics . Enjoy and feel free to comment on my post.  The Five Essential Themes of My Model: 1. The Nurse Serving as a Patient Advocate 2. The Nurse Promoting a Dignified Death for a Patient 3. The Nurse Fostering the Humane Side to Patient Care 4. The Nurse Encouraging Virtuous Integrity 5. The Nurse Actualizing Authentic Leadership.  You tube video: The Siciliano-McLaughlin Model of Ethics