Nurses' use of conscientious objection and the implications for conscience.

Area of Science:

• Nursing Ethics
• Bioethics
• Qualitative Research

Background:

• Conscientious objection (CO) is a critical issue for nurses, particularly in light of evolving healthcare policies.
• The legalization of Medical Assistance in Dying in Canada has heightened the need to understand nurses' ethical perspectives.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the meaning of conscience for nurses within the context of conscientious objection in clinical practice.
• To understand how nurses navigate ethical dilemmas related to their conscience.

Main Methods:

• Interpretive phenomenology guided the study.
• Data were collected through one-on-one interviews with eight nurses in Ontario.
• Iterative, phased analysis, including line-by-line highlighting and thematic analysis, was employed.

Main Results:

• Nurses derive ethical meaning from their lived experiences with conscience-based conscientious objection.
• Conscience issues and CO are current and critical challenges for nurses in Canada.
• There is a need for enhanced ethics education, awareness, and respect for nurses' conscience.

Conclusions:

• Ethical meaning is constructed through nurses' experiences with significant ethical issues requiring professional action via CO.
• This study is the first to explore the meaning of conscience from nurses' perspectives in the context of CO.
• Support from leadership, regulatory bodies, and policy is indicated to uphold nurses' conscience rights.