Factors affecting professional ethics development in students: A qualitative study

Abstract

Background: Ethics development is one of the most important aspects of professional practice in health sciences students. Understanding factors affecting ethics development can enhance clinical and professional performance in students. Objective: This study was conducted to explore students’ perceptions about factors affecting professional ethics development. Research design: This study is a conventional content analysis. Data were collected through 20 semi-structured interviews and two focus group interviews (12 students) during 2017–2018. Data were analyzed concurrently with data gathering, using the conventional content analysis approach of Graneheim and Lundman. Participants and research context: In total, 8 students of nursing, 5 medical students, 4 students of anesthesia and 3 operating room students in individual interviews, and 12 students in two focus group interviews from one university in the south of Iran were selected through purposive sampling. Ethical considerations: The research was approved by the Ethics Committee of one university in the south of Iran. Findings: The findings revealed two themes: personal and background factors. Personal factors consisted of the two categories of individual motivation and tendencies and interpersonal interactions. Background factors consisted of the two categories of role and function of teachers and environmental agents. Discussion and conclusions: According to the findings, both background and individual factors affect development of professional ethics in students. Understanding these factors along with reinforcement of educational planning in this field can improve healthcare services.

A Case-Centered Approach to Nursing Ethics Education: A Qualitative Study

“…Given that negative experiences in clinical practice can be impediments to staying in the nursing profession, nursing ethics education and trainings should be provided to nursing students to enhance their ethical competence, which is needed to surmount moral distress [ 26 ]. In particular, professional ethics are fundamental to the nursing profession [ 32 ], and obtaining professional competence is the most important factor in the formation of professional ethics and professionalism in students [ 25 ]. Notably, participants recognized nursing ethics education as a crucial component of professionalism and would like to create their own ethics standards and philosophy of nursing through nursing ethics education.…”

“…Therefore, further work is needed to develop various ethical cases, ranging from simple to very complex, based on actual nurses’ experiences. In ethics education, the role and function of teachers can contribute to the development of professional ethics in students [ 25 ]. In Choe et al’s study [ 34 ] on improving bioethics education, a priority was the enhancement of quality and competence in educators.…”

“…Previous studies have also reported the use of a case-centered approach and small group discussion as the most effective ways to teach an ethics course [ 21 , 46 ]. For ethics development, interpersonal interactions with peers through discussion were highly effective [ 25 ]. However, there are some difficulties in small group education, such as managing the quality of discussion in small groups within a large class [ 21 ] and lack of student participation, as our participants also emphasized.…”

“…Moral distress among nurses can decrease through training [ 17 , 18 , 19 ]. Education and training programs may be provided to enhance nurses’ ethical sensitivity and improve their understanding of decision-making processes in conflict situations [ 13 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 ]. Ethics education can enhance ethical sensitivity and awareness [ 21 , 27 , 28 ] as well as the ability to analyze ethical issues critically [ 29 ].…”

Hemşirelik Öğrencilerinin Etik Sorunlara Yaklaşım Durumlarının Belirlenmesi

“…Hemşirelerin etik duyarlılığının geliştirilmesi ve etik sorunları fark edebilmesi ve uygun bir şekilde çözümleyebilmesi için hemşirelik uygulamalarının temel bir bileşeni olan etik, hemşirelik eğitim programında yer almalıdır (5,6). Yapılan çalışmalarda da hemşirelik öğrencilerinin klinik uygulamalar sırasında karşılaşabilecekleri etik sorunlar ile baş edebilmeleri için hazırlanmaları gerektiği vurgulanmaktadır (7,8). Araştırmaya katılan hemşirelik öğrencilerinin sosyodemografik özelliklerine göre sağlık alanında yaşanan etik sorunlara yaklaşım ölçeği ve alt boyutlarının toplam puanlarının sıra ortalamalarına ilişkin analiz sonuçları Tablo 3'de sunulmuştur.…”