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Nursing students' ethical challenges in the clinical settings: A mixed-methods study
Roghayeh Mehdipour Rabori1, Mahlagha Dehghan1, Monirosadat Nematollahi1
1Nursing Research Center, Razi Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Iran.
Background:
Nursing students experience ethical conflicts and challenges during their clinical education. These may lead to moral distress and disturb the learning process.
Objectives:
This study aimed to explore and to evaluate the nursing students' ethical challenges in the clinical settings in Iran.
Research Design:
This was a mixed-methods study with an exploratory sequential design.
Participants And Research Context:
A total of 37 and 120 Iranian nursing students participated in the qualitative and quantitative phases, respectively.
Ethical Considerations:
The ethical committee of Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Iran, approved the protocol of the study.
Findings:
Three main categories were extracted from qualitative data including Low attention of nurses to the patients' preferences; Lack of authority; and Inadequate support. A total of 97% of the students had more than one ethical challenge in clinical settings and 48% of them stated that their challenges did not resolve. The total score of perceived ethical challenges was 62.03 ± 9.17, which was moderate. The highest mean score related to the "Low attention of nurses to the patients' preferences" subscale.
Discussion:
The finding confirmed most of the existing results of other international researches about the frequency and kinds of baccalaureate nursing students' ethical challenges.
Conclusion:
Identifying student ethical challenges helps teachers to manage their clinical learning process better. This study may provide a view for the nurses, clinical educators, and managers toward nursing students' ethical challenges and their impact on nursing students' clinical experiences.