Can a structured model of ethical reflection be used to teach ethics to nursing students? An approach to teaching nursing students a tool for systematic ethical reflection

Abstract

Background: Nurses encounter many ethical dilemmas in their practice. The ability to make good ethical decisions is a necessary competence in healthcare professions. International studies call for development and research on various methods to teach healthcare professionals ethics. This article describes an approach for learning how to be aware of and discover ethical dilemmas. By applying experienced narratives from healthcare practice and using question guidelines from a structured ethical model, nursing students learn to discover and find possible solutions for ethical problem in their practice.<p> <p>Aim: The aim of this study was to describe second- and third-year nursing students’ experiences by using structured ethical reflection as an approach to increase ethical awareness and deal with ethical decisions. <p>Design: This study has a descriptive exploratory design. A three-day ethics seminar was carried out to help students learn how to recognize and explore ethical dilemmas in their practice. <p>Materials and Methods: The data are collected from questionnaires used to evaluate the ethics seminar where 52 nursing students participated. The questionnaire contained open-ended and closed questions and was analysed using Braun and Clarke’s reflexive thematic analysis. The empirical data were collected by 52 nursing students answering an evaluation questionnaire after the ethics seminar. <p>Findings: Four themes were developed: Becoming aware of ethical dilemmas, Learning ethics by discussing knowledge and experiences with other students, Increased curiosity about ethics as a subject and Understanding the importance of critical ethical reflection work in clinical practice. <p>Discussion: The process of learning how to understand the ethical principles in reallife nursing context continues progressing through the bachelor’s program. Using group discussions and discussing examples of ethical dilemmas from practice help the students to a more comprehensive reflection process. <p>Conclusion: The nursing students experienced video lessons, group discussions and the use of a structured reflection model as a valuable approach in learning to recognize ethical dilemmas and how to deal with real-life ethical dilemmas.