Licensed Nurses’ Perceptions of Ethical Climates in Skilled Nursing Facilities

Abstract

This study examines the presence of ethical climates in skilled nursing facilities and identifies their antecedents (work group, job position, tenure). A cross-sectional survey design was implemented. A total of 359 facilities were selected in the Midwestern United States. Responses were received from nurses representing 100 of those facilities (28%). A total of 656 usable questionnaires were returned of the 3060 distributed (21.4% response rate). Descriptive statistics, confirmatory factor analysis, and multivariate and univariate analyses of variance were used. The results confirmed the presence of five ethical climates. Significant differences between registered and licensed practical nurses with regard to egoistic and independence ethical climates were found. Furthermore, nurses in management and non-management positions differed significantly in their perceptions of caring and egoistic climates. The results suggest incongruence in value perceptions and imply that researchers and practitioners have to direct efforts towards preventing and identifying reasons behind this.

Relationship between ethical work climate and nurses’ perception of organizational support, commitment, job satisfaction and turnover intent

“…Moreover, developing benevolent and principled ECs may help to reduce moral stress for nurses, improve moral excellence, and enhance the organization's success not only in retaining and recruiting new nurses but also in increasing employee productivity through ethical behavior. 9 This goes in the same line with the finding of this study which revealed positive significant correlations between nurses' perception of overall ethical work climate and their perception of each of POS, OC, as well as their JS. A positive relationship also was found between each variable with another.…”

“…2 Acquiring knowledge about the effect of ethical work climate and level of POS and factors amenable for change in the work environment can help organizational leaders to deal effectively within dysfunctional behaviors and make a difference in enhancing nurses' dedication and loyalty to their organization. 9,12 Conceptual framework This study was guided by the conceptual framework developed by Filipova 12 which proposed the relationship between certain organizational variables (i.e. ethical work climate and POS) and other mediating variables (i.e.…”

Organisational and individual support for nurses’ ethical competence: A cross-sectional survey

“…Shared understanding of what is ethically correct action and how ethical problems should be handled usually reflect the ethics of the particular organisation. 4 Based on results, competence in ethical decision-making was estimated to be the lowest but still at average level among nurses. According to Goethals et al, 18 'various studies, however, indicated that a gap exists between the ideal ethical decision and the real ethical action'.…”

Nurse managers' experience with ethical issues in six government hospitals in Malaysia: A cross-sectional study

“…For sensitive issues regarding "patient care", nurse managers felt "discuss with doctors" was the best option probably as the immediate reliable measure for dealing with the issues. Filipova AA's study (2009) suggested that the way ethical issues are handled reflects the ethics of an organization [19]. Hence, this result implies that the working environment between doctors and nurse managers are still at best situation in the hospitals.…”