Descriptions of long-term impact from inter-professional ethics communication in groups

On a daily basis, healthcare professionals deal with various ethical issues and it can be difficult to determine how to act best. Clinical ethics support (CES) has been developed to provide support for healthcare professionals dealing with complex ethical issues. A long-term perspective of participating in inter-professional dialogue and reflective-based CES sessions is seemingly sparse in the literature.

The aim was to describe experiences of impact of Inter-professional Ethics Communication in groups (IEC) based on Habermas' theory of communicative actions, after 6 months from the perspective of an inter-professional team.

A qualitative inductive approach was chosen, and individual interviews (n = 13) were conducted. Interview data were analysed using qualitative content analysis.

The participants, 10 females and two males, represented assistant nurses, registered nurses, physicians, occupational therapists, physiotherapists, welfare officers and psychologists. Each had attended at least four IEC sessions.

The study was approved by the Regional Ethical Review Board in Umeå, Sweden, and it has been undertaken in accordance with the Helsinki Declaration.

Overall, the descriptions expressed a perceived achievement of a deepened and integrated ethical awareness that increased the participants' awareness of ethically difficult situations as well as their own ethical thinking, actions and approaches in daily work. Perspectives were shared and the team become more welded. They carried the memories of the reflections within them, which was perceived as supportive when encountered new ethically situations.

Putting words to unarticulated thoughts may stimulate repeated reflections, leading to new insights and alternative thoughts.

The outcome of IEC sessions 6 months following the last session can be described as an incorporated knowledge that enables actions in ethically difficult situations based on an ethical awareness both at a 'We-level' and an 'I-level'.