Nurse educators' teaching of codes of ethics

Although codes of ethics are thought to be an important element of nursing ethics curriculum research focusing on nurses' codes is scarce and negligible in the area of education. This study explores Finnish nurse educators' teaching of codes of ethics. A total of 183 nurse educators from polytechnics providing basic nursing education in Finland answered a structured questionnaire with one open-ended question. The data was analysed statistically by SPSS and by content analysis. The responding educators' teaching of the codes was rather extensive. The focus of teaching was on the nurse-patient relationship. Nursing in a wider social context was less emphasized. Integrated teaching was the prevalent teaching format. Educators' use of teaching and evaluation methods was fairly narrow aiming at a student-centred approach. Educators' knowledge of the codes was mainly based on informal learning. The majority assessed their knowledge as adequate for teaching the codes. Educators who were motivated to build their knowledge voluntarily also taught the codes more. Educators assessed nursing students' knowledge and ability to apply the codes as mediocre. Organization of integrated teaching, objective assessment of nurse educators' competence to teach the codes, and evaluation of student outcomes need further exploring.