A Case Study of Ethical Dilemma for Novice Clinical Nurses and Their Educational Need for Nursing Ethics

Abstract

The aim of this study was to understand the current knowledge and needs of novice nurses with regard ethics in the clinic, and the corresponding educational needs, in order to investigate how best to provide nursing ethics education. A questionnaire was distributed and a preliminary survey was carried out. Next, semistructured interviews were conducted with respondents who gave their consent. Of the 13 novice nurses who responded, 12 said that they had experienced an ethical dilemma, while 1 had not. However, of the 12 who said they had experienced an ethical dilemma, the situations described by 6 of them as an ethical dilemma included no conflict with ethical principles. The dilemmas experienced by the remaining 6 respondents were six cases of “autonomy and beneficence” and one case of “fidelity and beneficence.” All respondents dealt with the situations individually, without organizational support. In terms of the struggle of knowledge in the educational content and its necessity, a need for nearly all educational content was felt although some variation was seen between individual items. The findings suggest that in nursing ethics education repetition of the same content helps students to gain a deeper understanding of what is being taught.