Moral decision making by neonatal intensive care nurses
View File(s)
- Author(s)
- Details
-
Pamela S. Chally, PhD, RN, Interim President-University of North Florida
- Sigma Affiliation
- Lambda Rho at-Large
Visitor Statistics
Visits vs Downloads
Visitors - World Map
Top Visiting Countries
Country | Visits |
---|
Top Visiting Cities
City | Visits |
---|
Visits (last 6 months)
Downloads (last 6 months)
Popular Works for Chally, Pamela S. by View
Title | Page Views |
---|
Popular Works for Chally, Pamela S. by Download
Title | Downloads |
---|
View Citations
Citations
Purpose. The purpose of this research was to gain information about the perspective neonatal intensive care nurses use to make moral decisions. Previous research in nursing has assumed acceptance of Kohlberg's theoretical conception of moral development. This research incorporated more recent development theory to include not only a Kohlbergian justice perspective, but also, the care perspective described by Gilligan.
Research questions included:
(1) To what extent is a care perspective used by registered nurses as they make moral decisions?
(2) To what extent is a justice perspective used by registered nurses as they make moral decisions?
(3) To what extent do registered nurses combine the justice and care perspective as they make moral decisions?
(4) Can any additional perspectives be identified that do not clearly fit into the care or justice perspective?
(5) How do demographic variables relate to the perspectives used by registered nurses to make moral decisions?
Methods. Experienced neonatal intensive care nurses were interviewed concerning moral dilemmas they had experienced. Subjects were also asked to complete a demographic questionnaire. Descriptive analysis was used to analyze the data as well as interpretive analysis. Interpretive analysis sought to understand how nurses make moral decisions by listening for specific approaches in the audiotaped interviews.
Results. The results of this study indicated that nurses use more than one perspective as they make moral decisions. The predominant number of nurses used a perspective of care (65%). A small number used a justice perspective (12%), and the remaining nurses (23%) used a combined care/justice perspective. No additional perspectives were identified. Nurses who were younger in age, and who had fewer years of neonatal intensive care experience were less likely to practice from a care perspective.
A taxonomy of care and justice was identified. Nurses resolved moral issues from Gilligan's second and third levels. Evidence also validated that nurses deliberated from Kohlberg's third, fourth, and fifth stages.
Conclusions. The researcher concluded that nurses were concerned with care and justice. Both perspectives are important to understanding the true voice of our profession.
This dissertation has also been disseminated through the ProQuest Dissertations and Theses database. Dissertation/thesis number: 9107376; ProQuest document ID: 303854056. The author still retains copyright.
This item has not gone through this repository's peer-review process, but has been accepted by the indicated university or college in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the specified degree.
Type | Dissertation |
Acquisition | Proxy-submission |
Review Type | None: Degree-based Submission |
Format | Text-based Document |
Evidence Level | Other |
Research Approach | Other |
Keywords | Neonatal Intensive Care Nurses; Moral Decisions; Ethical Practice; Patient Care; Neonates |
Grantor | Georgia State University |
Advisor | Nelms, Tommie P.; Warren, Charlotte J.; Bechtel, William |
Level | PhD |
Year | 1990 |
All rights reserved by the author(s) and/or publisher(s) listed in this item record unless relinquished in whole or part by a rights notation or a Creative Commons License present in this item record.
All permission requests should be directed accordingly and not to the Sigma Repository.
All submitting authors or publishers have affirmed that when using material in their work where they do not own copyright, they have obtained permission of the copyright holder prior to submission and the rights holder has been acknowledged as necessary.
Related items
Showing items related by title, author, creator and subjects.
-
Ethical issues and decision making related to resuscitation of severely injured patients: Perceptions of emergency department nurses
Zeitzer, Mindy B.Nurses working in emergency departments (EDs) of trauma centers are integral members of the trauma team during the initial resuscitation of severely injured patients. Decisions regarding these resuscitations are made in ... -
Nurses' perceptions of collaborative nurse-physician transfer decision-making as a predictor of patient outcomes in a medical intensive care unit
Higgins, Linda W.This prospective correlational study examined nurses' perceptions of collaborative nurse-physician transfer decision making as a predictor of patient outcomes in a medical intensive care unit (MICU), adjusting for risk. ... -
Experiencing moral uncertainty in practice
Wurzbach, Mary Ellen (11/4/2015)Within the past thirty years, ethical questions have come to the forefront of nursing practice. Books on the subject of nursing ethics attest to the fact that nursing ethics as a subject distinct from medical ethics ... -
How nurse leaders assess their ethical decision making practice, before and after ethical leadership training
Cole, MelissaThis project reveals surprising results regarding how nurse leaders assess their ethical decision-making practice before and after attending ethical leadership training. Contrary to the Dunning-Kruger effect, immediately ... -
Nurses' negotiation processes in facilitating ethical decision-making in patient care
Savage, Teresa A.The literature on ethical decision-making by nurses presents both prescriptive and descriptive decision-making models. The processes nurses use to move through the step-wise models has not been described. An atheoretical ...