Relationship between ethical ideology and moral judgment: Academic nurse educators' perception

Area of Science:

• Nursing Education
• Bioethics
• Moral Psychology

Background:

• Ethical decision-making is complex for academic nurse educators.
• Challenges arise when educators face ethical dilemmas at work.
• Understanding the interplay of ethical ideology and moral judgment is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the relationship between ethical ideology, moral judgment, and ethical decision-making.
• To explore perceptions of academic nurse educators regarding these ethical constructs.

Main Methods:

• A descriptive correlational research design was employed.
• The study included 220 academic nurse educators from the Faculty of Nursing, Alexandria University.
• Validated questionnaires measured ethical ideology, moral judgment, and ethical decisions.

Main Results:

• A significant positive moderate correlation was found between the idealism construct of ethical ideology and moral judgment (recognition of ethical issues and emotional consequences).
• A positive significant moderate correlation existed between the relativism construct of ethical ideology and overall moral judgment.
• Idealism and relativism together predicted approximately 3.5% of the variance in overall moral judgment.

Conclusions:

• Variations in ethical position and ideology are associated with moral judgment and ethical decision-making.
• Supportive work environments can enhance educators' self-awareness and ethical decision-making capabilities.
• Nursing curricula require increased focus on ethical concepts to develop competencies.