Axiological reflection for nursing ethics education: The missing link in understanding value conflicts.

Area of Science:

• Nursing Ethics
• Moral Psychology
• Axiology

Background:

• Healthcare organizations highly value moral principles like compassion and integrity.
• Nursing ethics education emphasizes these moral values for future professionals.
• However, nurses hold diverse personal values that may conflict with moral ones, influencing behavior.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore how nurses' moral behavior is influenced by their broader personal values system.
• To apply Schwartz's Theory of Basic Human Values to understand the hierarchy and interaction of values.
• To advocate for enhanced nursing ethics education focusing on values integration and practical reasoning.

Main Methods:

• Utilizing Schwartz's Theory of Basic Human Values as a conceptual framework.
• Analyzing the interplay between moral values and other personal values (e.g., hedonism, achievement, power).
• Discussing the impact of clinical environments on values prioritization.

Main Results:

• Moral behavior is not solely predicted by moral values but by their integration within an individual's hierarchical values system.
• Conflicts between moral and personal values require prioritization of moral values for ethical conduct.
• Suboptimal clinical environments can lead to deprioritization of moral values.

Conclusions:

• Developing practical reasoning skills is crucial for balancing competing values and guiding ethical decision-making.
• Integrating meta-axiological reflection into nursing ethics education can enhance self-awareness and ethical competence.
• Nurses need to understand their personal values spectrum to navigate moral dilemmas effectively.