Ethical perception and resulting action in perioperative nurses

This study examined whether perioperative nurses (n = 40) were able to perceive and identify selected ethical issues occurring within their practice setting. The nurses described ethical conflicts and identified factors influential to their ethical decision making. The issues reported were organized into five categories: consent/advocacy, impaired provider/potential for unsafe practice, misrepresentation by care provider, disrespect for patient, and provider judgment/competency. The results of this study support that perioperative nurses both perceive and identify specific ethical issues in the surgical environment. Analysis of their reported actions revealed that the most common methods used for ethical conflict resolution were reporting to the immediate supervisor or personally confronting those directly involved.