New Beginnings

Hello everyone,

Much has changed in the life over the last year, but one thing has remained constant - the need for professionalism and ethics in nursing remains a need and priority in our profession.  

Even though my ethics in nursing dissertation study happened about ten years ago, the same concerns and worries still exist today.  Yesterday, as I sat in a meeting, those in attendance worried about ethical infractions by prelicensure students and wondered if it would be a precursor to unethical behavior in nursing practice.  That very premise was the impetus to my study. 

Information about my hermeneutic phenomenological study:

Title: The Experience of Accelerated Nursing Program Graduates Utilizing Ethics in Their Nursing Practice.

Year of publication in ProQuest: 2016. 

Purpose of the Study: This study aimed to illuminate the meaning of the experience of accelerated nursing program graduates utilizing ethics in their nursing practice. 

Research question: “What is the experience of accelerated nursing program graduates utilizing ethics in their nursing practice?”

Conclusions/Recommendations 

Nursing Education

  • Integration of a virtue-ethics approach to develop individual values
  • Must teach core competencies along with theories
  • Integration of case-based learning to support practical reasoning through the use of critical thinking
Nursing Practice

  • Accountability is imperative for ethical practice
  • Utilization of the model in practice

Nursing Research

  • Replication with other cohorts (prelicensure, advanced practice)
  • Future quantitative study
  • Transferability to other professional fields outside of nursing 

I would love to ignite a conversation about ethical infractions seen in nursing students and in nurses in practice.   In this reboot of my blog, I hope to also incorporate the concepts of professionalism, accountability, and professional identity as my work continues to evolve and grow. 

Also, I would love to hear your thoughts about topics for future posts.  

With respect,

Mary Ann Siciliano McLaughlin Ed.D, MSN, RN 






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