Into the Grey Zone: Retired Nurses’ Reflections on Ethics in Canadian Nursing Practice

Context: Nurses are often hesitant to talk about ethical issues in their practice for many unique and valid reasons. What if the burden of risk was lifted upon retirement, even if just slightly? The purpose of this study was to explore retired nurses’ reflections on their experiences of ethical issues and decision making in various nursing practice settings throughout their careers and to glean recommendations for ethics in contemporary nursing practice. Methods: Data were collected via in-depth, individual, semi-structured interviews. Guided by an interpretive, descriptive approach, data were managed with NVivo v.11 and analyzed with an inductive, comparative, thematic approach. In northern Ontario, two nurse researchers co-interviewed eight retired nurses with decades of practice experience across diverse Canadian health care settings. Ethics approval was obtained through Lakehead University’s Research Ethics Board. Findings: Three themes emerged to address ethical issues in practice; these are creativity, resourcefulness, and a strong sense of community with other nurses. Further, the retired nurses’ collated reflections on ethics in practice are presented as the FIG model: F ellowship, I ngenuity, and G umption. Conclusions: This study identifies ethical underpinnings that retired nurses have used to effectively respond to ethical issues in their practice. Those who are currently nursing, and nursing as a profession, may wish to recognize and retain these strategies in order to continue to deliver a high standard of quality, ethical care. Recommendations for practice, research, and education are offered. Résumé Abstract Contexte : Les infirmières hésitent souvent à parler des questions d’éthique dans leur pratique pour de nombreuses raisons uniques et valables. Et si le fardeau du risque était allégé à la retraite, ne serait-ce que légèrement? L’objectif de cette étude était d’explorer les réflexions des infirmières et infirmiers à la retraite sur leurs expériences des questions éthiques et de la prise de décision dans divers contextes de pratique infirmière tout au long de leur carrière et de glaner des recommandations sur l’éthique dans la pratique infirmière contemporaine. Méthodes : Les données ont été recueillies au moyen d’entretiens individuels semi-structurés approfondis. Guidées par une approche interprétative et descriptive, les données ont été gérées avec NVivo v.11 et analysées selon une approche inductive, comparative et thématique. Dans le nord de l’Ontario, deux infirmières chercheuses ont co-interviewé huit infirmières à la retraite ayant des décennies d’expérience de la pratique dans divers milieux de soins de santé canadiens. L’approbation éthique a été obtenue auprès du comité d’éthique de la recherche de l’Université Lakehead. Résultats : Trois thèmes ont émergé pour aborder les questions d’éthique dans Those who are currently nursing, and nursing as a profession, may wish to recognize and retain these strategies in order to continue to deliver a high standard of quality, ethical care. Recommendations for practice, research, and education are offered.