Course Description
This course focuses on applied nursing ethics and the Canadian Nurses Association (CNA) Code of Ethics for Registered Nurses is strongly emphasized. Applied nursing ethics is a sub-category of ethics and it is involved with the translation of ethical principles to professional nursing practice. Classroom activities focus on nursing oriented practices for reaching ethical decisions when working with ethical problems and issues, including utilizing an ethical decision making model specifically designed for nurses. This course builds on prior leadership courses, viewing leadership from the perspective of individual and collective influence. This course provides students with the education and skills to act as leaders in the professional field of nursing, with specific emphasis on acts of moral courage.
Course Content
In this course applied ethics in nursing practice is the focus of discussion. Concepts and essential content that will be addressed relative to this topic are listed below. In addition, the core curriculum concepts will be integrated into this course.
Ethical Perspective:
- CNA Code of Ethics for Registered Nurses
Concepts and/or themes applied to nursing ethics:
- Care
- Compassion
- Accountability
- Emotional intelligence
- Ethical problems
- Ethical dilemmas
- Moral distress
- Moral agency
- Moral disengagement
- Moral outrage
- Moral courage
- Cultural competence
- Cultural safety
- Cultural humility
- Duty to report
- Safe practice
- Public safety
- Health policy
- Health equity
- Sex and gender
- Race and ethnicity
- Indigenous Peoples and reconciliation
- Social justice
- Power differentials in professional relationships
Moral Principles as applied to nursing:
- Advocacy
- Autonomy
- Integrity
- Veracity
- Fidelity
- Benificence
- Non-maleficence
- Justice
- Confidentiality
- Moral courage
- Respect for self-worth
- Respect for dignity
Learning Activities
It is the intent of faculty to facilitate student learning, and promote critical inquiry, reflection and analytical reasoning through a variety of learning processes such as formal lecture, dynamic discussion and the application of knowledge to sort through real ethical case scenarios.
Means of Assessment
The course evaluation is consistent with the Douglas College Evaluation Policy. A course evaluation schedule and other course evaluation information are provided in the Instructor’s Course Outline which is available to students at the beginning of each semester. This is a graded course.
Learning Outcomes
At the end of this course, the successful student will be able to:
- Recognize how leadership competencies in nursing are grounded in experience and guided by ethical values and responsibilities that are significant to nursing
- Understand and apply nursing leadership in the form of advocacy and moral courage to their professional and personal lives
- Demonstrate an understanding of how ethical and legal considerations play out in nursing which include but are not limited to: client confidentiality, informed consent and duty to report
- Apply selected moral principles to ethical problems encountered in nursing
- Apply the directives as laid out in the CNA Code of Ethics for Registered Nurses to decision making in nursing care
- Develop and apply strategies and ethical decision-making models to ethical dilemmas in nursing
- Apply the notions of nursing leadership theory to nursing actions, in particular those that are related to advocacy and moral courage
Textbook Materials
Textbooks and Materials to be Purchased by Students:
A list of recommended textbooks and materials is provided on the Instructor’s Course Outline which is available to students at the beginning of each semester.