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Ethical Dilemmas II

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Nurses are essential in patient care, upholding the ethical principles of their profession and effectively navigating ethical dilemmas. Neglecting ethical issues can lead to inadequate patient care, compromised therapeutic relationships, and moral distress among healthcare workers.
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Ethical Dilemmas I

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Updated: May 17, 2026

Using Visual and Narrative Methods to Achieve Fair Process in Clinical Care

Using Visual and Narrative Methods to Achieve Fair Process in Clinical Care

Published on: February 16, 2011

Ethics policy review: a case study in quality improvement.

Andrea Nadine Frolic¹, Katherine Drolet,

¹Clinical & Organizational Ethics, Hamilton Health Sciences, McMaster University Medical Centre, Hamilton, ON, Canada. frolic@hhsc.ca

Journal of Medical Ethics

|November 3, 2012

Summary

Hospital Ethics Committees (HECs) policy work is crucial but understudied. This paper details a quality improvement project to enhance HEC policy review processes, aiming to establish best practices for ethics policy development.

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Last Updated: May 17, 2026

Using Visual and Narrative Methods to Achieve Fair Process in Clinical Care

Using Visual and Narrative Methods to Achieve Fair Process in Clinical Care

Published on: February 16, 2011

Area of Science:

Healthcare Management
Bioethics
Organizational Improvement

Background:

Hospital Ethics Committees (HECs) perform vital policy work alongside consultation and education.
The policy work of HECs significantly impacts healthcare providers, patients, and organizational culture.
Existing literature extensively covers ethics consultation but lacks depth on HEC policy development.

Purpose of the Study:

To advance best practices in HEC policy work through a detailed case study.
To describe a quality improvement (QI) process implemented at Hamilton Health Sciences.
To encourage other HECs to share their policy work for knowledge generation.

Main Methods:

Description of the context and historical review process limitations of HEC policy work.
Detailed account of a QI project undertaken in 2010.
Development and application of specific tools to improve HEC policy review quality.

Main Results:

Identification of shortcomings in the historical review process for HEC policies.
Successful implementation of a QI project to enhance HEC policy work.
Development of practical tools to improve the quality of HEC policy review.

Conclusions:

The organizational case study provides a model for improving HEC policy work.
Sharing qualitative descriptions of HEC policy work is essential for developing best practices.
Further research and publication by HECs can create a robust body of knowledge for ethics policy review.