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

Empowerment is defined as "the authority or power given to someone to do something" (www.dictionary.com).   Empowerment in nursing can involve the empowerment of patients.  We, as nurses, can teach our patients to be empowered in their care.  Nurses teach patients that they have the ability to direct their health and be in charge of their path within the healthcare system.  The patients must be told that they have this authority or power to do something.  For example, a patient with CHF can be empowered to manage their disease and employ the use of self care modalities, such as the maintenance of a fluid restriction and the performance of daily weights as part of their CHF care.  However, I do not see empowerment just as patient empowerment.   Rather, I see student empowerment as encompassing acting prudently in the clinical areas, as well as, the ability to make good choices as students and then as future professional nurses.     The s...

Communication , as a pillar of professionalism, needs to be taught to students by example. The example of good communication will be evident through interactions that the students witness between faculty and staff, faculty and administration, faculty and students, and faculty and patients. Essential avenues of communication include verbal means, written means, and nonverbal communication, in both the clinical arena and in the classroom. I feel as if this teaching by example is so crucial for students.  Students watch our actions and interactions with the people with whom we work (such as other faculty, staff, and administration), with whom we interact (such as patients and students), and for whom we care (such as patients in the clinical setting).   If we, as faculty, demonstrate poor communication, both verbal and nonverbal, to our students then students may feel as if they have license to communicate poorly as well.   I am not saying t...

"Part of professionalism is accountability,  accountability to your actions and the outcomes of those actions."  Mary Ann McLaughlin Ed.D., RN  This is my tag line and I say it to my students all of the time.  I really try to have students understand professionalism and accountability.  I feel this is a very useful life lesson for them as future nurses.  I feel they need to understand why it is so important for them to act in a manner conducive to being a professional nurse each day.  Nurse need to make decisions for their patients each and every day.  But what happens after we make those decisions?  The answer is that the patient then experiences the effects of our decisions.  I tell students even if the situation does not turn out the way we hope, we are still accountable to the outcomes of our actions.  Yes, we can say I learned from this situation and will know better next time.  However, saying this does not era...

  Copyrighted by Mary Ann Siciliano McLaughlin Ed.D., RN, 2017 PILLAR II: AUTONOMY 2. Autonomy, as defined by the AACN (2008), is "the right to self-determination".  I believe this right to self-determination relates to self-determination by both the patient and the nurse.  As nurses, we need to actively listen to our patients to ensure we know their wishes and respect their decisions.  This pillar includes nurses respecting the patients’ rights to make decisions about their healthcare (AACN, 2008) and, I believe, supporting those decisions.  I believe that nurses and nursing students showing respect for their patients’ decisions about their healthcare treatment leads to the actualization of a high-level of responsibility.    I view autonomy as being related to teaching the students how to be autonomous in their decisions as nurses. Therefore, this pillar results in good decision-making on the part of the nursing student.   This tra...

I have a poster on Ethics in Practice that will be displayed at the ATI National Nurse Educator Conference in Salt Lake City, Utah on April 22nd. 

Copyrighted by Mary Ann Siciliano McLaughlin Ed.D., RN, 2017 PILLAR I: ALTRUISM 1. Altruism is "a concern for the welfare and well-being of others."  This concern and advocacy includes not only patients, but also other nurses and health care providers (AACN, 2008).   Under altruism, the students need to understand that they need to be concerned with the welfare of others including their patients. I also view altruism, as a concept, where the students really learn to advocate for their patients needs and issues.   I feel this comprises a large part of their duties as a professional nurse.   However, this pillar of altruism also includes concern for the fellow nurses and health care providers working alongside them. The most wonderful part of being a nurse, I feel, is how we get to care holistically for our patients and their families.   Nurses do not just take care of isolated problems for patients.   Rather, nurses look at the entir...