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

In September, I had the privilege of presenting on my ethics model, The Siciliano-McLaughlin Model of Ethics, at the Sigma Theta Tau Leadership Connection.

Integrity is acting in accordance with the appropriate code of ethics and accepted standards of practice (AACN, 2008).   In nursing, integrity is evident through the code of ethics, as well as, acceptable standards of practice as set forth by professional nursing organizations.   The students, faculty, staff and administration need to execute integrity as a pillar of professionalism at all times. Anytime there is a breach in integrity there is the potential for future negative fallout from the experience. Students need to recognize that integrity, as a pillar of professionalism, is paramount to the profession of nursing. Do you agree as nursing educators?  What is your view on maintaining integrity in our students and teaching them by example?  As always, I would love to hear feedback from other nursing faculty or nursing administrators.   

Knowledge is defined as a specialized body of knowledge research and utilization of evidence-based practice. A profession is learned through education (Joel, 2002).   Knowledge, as a pillar, is important because it denotes not just the knowledge related to patient care but also being able to use that specialized knowledge or evidence-based practice in clinical care. The students need to understand that the profession of nursing has been learned through the educational process (Joel, 2002).    Without knowledge, the students will be powerless in providing patient centered care for their patients. As Claire Fagin said (9/16/2013), ‘I see nursing as the application of science in an artistic way.’ I want my students to have that solid knowledge base in which to apply nursing artistically to their patient cares.”

Human dignity is “a respect for the inherent worth and uniqueness of individuals”.    It represents nurse values and respect for all patients and colleagues (AACN, 2008).   The students need to be taught to understand the power of human dignity.   They need to understand that patients are individuals and that nurses need to demonstrate respect for all individuals regardless of their individual differences.  In my ethics study, dignity was also a theme that came through loud and clear.  Nurses spoke of how patients wanted to be treated, how some nurses treated patients because of their situation in life, i.e. being a drug user, a drug dealer, or being from what they considered a lower status in life because of lifestyle choices by the patients.  Some nurses struggled with caring for these patients, while others embraced it.  One nurses spoke of medicating a patient appropriately despite their previous drug abuse.  This patient even thanke...

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...