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

"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

I am very excited to present a guest blog written by a dear colleague. Today's guest blog author is  Dr. Darci McCall . We met through, our involvement with, the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN). We bonded early on through our love of ethics and nursing education.  BIO for  Darci McCall, PhD, RNC-OB, C-EFM, CNE Darci McCall, PhD, RNC-OB, C-EFM, CNE, is a Clinical Professor of Nursing at Boise State University in Boise, Idaho. She has taught in both prelicensure and RN-BS programs, drawing on experience from the classroom, clinical practice, simulation, and online learning. In her current role, she teaches courses on leadership, healthcare technology, and vulnerable populations. Her interests include the ethical and thoughtful use of artificial intelligence in nursing education and supporting meaningful learning that fosters both personal and professional growth. Teaching for the Future: The Ethical Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Nursing Education...

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...