A Blog Refresh: I have been in a holding pattern in my blog for some time. However, I would like to reinstate my blog on ethics in nursing. To begin again, I am posting my first post to set the stage for things to come. Enjoy!
Every time we hold a person responsible for what he has done, we acknowledge in effect that a deed which can be judged morally has an intimate and internal connection with the character of the one from whom the deed issued.
- John Dewey, 1932/2009, p. 342
In The Moral Self, Dewey (1932/2009) stated: “Selfhood or character is not a mere means, an external instrument, of attaining certain ends. . . . It is an agency of accomplishing consequences. . . . The self reveals its nature in what it chooses” (p. 342). This thought process is applicable to nurses as well. If, as Dewey postulates, ethics is part of a person’s character and therefore a part of one self, perhaps nurses can draw upon these inherent factors in an attempt to practice ethically and authentically. This practice is evident through the actions they choose when confronted with an ethical situation or dilemma. If students are able to act according to their feelings and convictions, being true to their core beliefs and emotions, then authenticity can be achieved (Guignon, 2008). Authenticity here refers to how decisions, which are truly one’s own, are achieved while incorporating the complexity of one’s own personal values (Gadow, 1990). Therefore, authenticity can be seen as a reflection upon the nurse’s selfhood.
Moreover, these choices mold and form them as a professional nurse. Choices that are not ethical—such as acting unethically by disseminating details about the care of a patient and protected information—are just that: choices. Nurses have the ethical choice of whether or not to act in a certain way—a way in accordance with nursing ethics. In The Nature of a Moral Act, Dewey (1908/1996) echoed this thought: “An unstable character may be the product of acts deliberately chosen aforetime” (p. 9). In The Moral Life, Dewey (1908/1996) postulated that not only are moral principles real, but they exist within community life and within the individual. I believe the words of John Dewey about reflection sum it up best: “A union of benevolent impulse and intelligent reflection is the interest most likely to result in conduct that is good. But is this union, the role of thoughtful inquiry, quite as important as that of sympathetic affection” (p. 163).
These teachings by Dewey are applicable to students in general, but I feel they are particularly applicable to nursing students. If a nursing student can combine action with reflection, then good conduct is possible. I also believe the sympathetic affection Dewey spoke of relates to nursing and the caring aspect of the profession. (The Experience of Accelerated Nursing Program Graduates Utilizing Ethics in Their Nursing Practice, a dissertation by Mary Ann Siciliano McLaughlin Ed.D., RN, October 19, 2016).
These opening paragraphs hail from the beginning of my dissertation. As a professor in an accelerated program, I wondered (and worried quite frankly) if we, as educators, could really indoctrinate students into the culture of "being a nurse" in an abbreviated time frame. I worried, too, that a lack of acculturation of ethics in practice would carry over from the student role into the professional nurse role. Could we be sure that our accelerated students would maintain character, be authentic, and make good choices?
I hope that this blog will at the very least spark conversation among educators, practicing nurses, and students alike with regard to ethics in nursing practice. This blog is meant to serve as a platform for real conversations about ethics. I hope it also assists in approaching tough issues we face as nurses in everyday practice and for those of us who educate, the practitioners we are trying to develop. As this blog develops, I will reveal the model of ethics I developed as a result of my research. My hope is that my initial, and ongoing, research will add to our body of knowledge about ethics in nursing practice. I hope you join me on this journey. Thank you for reading. Comments are welcome.
References
These teachings by Dewey are applicable to students in general, but I feel they are particularly applicable to nursing students. If a nursing student can combine action with reflection, then good conduct is possible. I also believe the sympathetic affection Dewey spoke of relates to nursing and the caring aspect of the profession. (The Experience of Accelerated Nursing Program Graduates Utilizing Ethics in Their Nursing Practice, a dissertation by Mary Ann Siciliano McLaughlin Ed.D., RN, October 19, 2016).
These opening paragraphs hail from the beginning of my dissertation. As a professor in an accelerated program, I wondered (and worried quite frankly) if we, as educators, could really indoctrinate students into the culture of "being a nurse" in an abbreviated time frame. I worried, too, that a lack of acculturation of ethics in practice would carry over from the student role into the professional nurse role. Could we be sure that our accelerated students would maintain character, be authentic, and make good choices?
I hope that this blog will at the very least spark conversation among educators, practicing nurses, and students alike with regard to ethics in nursing practice. This blog is meant to serve as a platform for real conversations about ethics. I hope it also assists in approaching tough issues we face as nurses in everyday practice and for those of us who educate, the practitioners we are trying to develop. As this blog develops, I will reveal the model of ethics I developed as a result of my research. My hope is that my initial, and ongoing, research will add to our body of knowledge about ethics in nursing practice. I hope you join me on this journey. Thank you for reading. Comments are welcome.
References
Dewey, J. (1908/1996). Theory of the moral life. New York, NY: Irvington Publishers.
148
Dewey, J. (1932/2009). Ethics. New York, NY: H. Holt and Company.
Gadow, S. (1990). Existential advocacy: Philosophical foundations of nursing. In T. Pence & J. Cantrell (Eds.), Ethics in nursing: An anthology (pp. 41-52). New York, NY: National League for Nursing.
Guignon, C. (2008). Authenticity. Philosophy Compass, 3(2), 277-290.
Siciliano McLaughlin, M. A. (2016). The Experience of Accelerated Nursing Program Graduates Utilizing Ethics in Their Nursing Practice. Retrieved from Pro Quest LLC. (10195870).
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