THE EXPERIENCE OF ETHICAL DECISION-MAKING AMONG STAFF NURSES: A PHENOMENOLOGICAL STUDY (NURSES).
Contributors: University of Kansas.
Published: 1991
Number of pages: 217
Subjects: Health Sciences, Nursing.; Psychology, Industrial.
Description: Ethical decision making has been identified as an inherent part of nursing practice. The literature reflects a plethora of literature regarding ethical decision making in nursing, much of which is theoretical or anecdotal in nature. However, most empirical investigations regarding ethical decision making have been based on Kohlberg's theory of justice, which has recently been criticized for its unidimensional focus of morality. Recent sentiment in nursing supports Gilligan's theory of care, though neither Kohlberg's or Gilligan's theory has been demonstrated to provide an adequate description of how nurses make ethical decisions in their practice. Therefore, this study used the phenomenological method to examine the experience of staff nurses as they engage in ethical decision making. Interview data was collected from 19 baccalaureate prepared staff nurses in a large, midwestern, metropolitan hospital. Giorgi's method of data analysis, facilitated by the Ethnograph, was used. The emerging description revealed four common aspects of ethical decision making among staff nurses: Context, Trigger, Ethical Decision Making Process (i.e., Deliberation and Integration) and Outcomes. This description provides a foundation for future research regarding a theory of ethical decision making in nursing.
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 53-08, Section: B, page: 4037.

Thesis (PH.D.)--UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS, 1991.

School code: 0099.