Ethical Issues Experienced by Nurses at University Hospitals

Abstract

　The aims of the present study were to identify ethical issues that nurses have encountered in practice at university hospitals that provide technologically advanced medical treatment, to clarify how they handled these ethical issues, and to determine the extent to which they require ethics education.

　A questionnaire was developed based on “ETHICS and HUMAN RIGHTS in NURSING PRACTICE”（S.T. Fry & Nen, 1997）. Respondents included 986 nurses who cared for inpatients at three university hospitals.

　The following results were obtained. Of all respondents, 78.2% indicated that they have been directly involved in some ethical issues. Respondents most frequently experienced and have been most deeply troubled with “insufficient nursing staff”. Although ethical issues related to “using/not using physical/chemical restrains” and “respecting/not respecting informed consent for treatment” were frequently experienced, many respondents indicated that “pain management” was the most difficult issue. When resolving ethical issues, many respondents consulted with colleagues, patients, and the families; however, respondents were least likely to consult with a specialist in ethics, an ethics committee, or the Nursing Association. These findings indicate that sufficient resources were not available for nurses dealing with ethical issues. Furthermore, as respondents did not evaluate themselves as knowledgeable about ethics, they believe that they require ethics education.

　The present findings suggest that some ethical issues should be managed organizationally within institutions and that the contents of ethics education should be refined.