Clinical ethics observation embedded in nursing ethics education: Nursing students' experiences

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Nursing Ethics
• Qualitative Research

Background:

• Nursing ethics is crucial for quality care.
• Traditional teaching methods may not fully capture clinical practice complexity.
• Clinical ethics observation offers a real-world learning approach.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore baccalaureate nursing students' experiences with a clinical ethics observation module.
• To assess the effectiveness of this novel teaching method in nursing ethics education.

Main Methods:

• Qualitative descriptive design with five focus groups.
• Twenty-nine second-year nursing students participated.
• Latent content analysis with an inductive approach was used.

Main Results:

• Students reflected on the gap between ideal and real ethical behaviors.
• The module enhanced knowledge application and competence.
• It inspired future self-improvement and professionalism.

Conclusions:

• Clinical ethics observation is a valuable tool in nursing ethics education.
• The module improved knowledge application, competence, and professional motivation.
• Student feedback offers insights for curriculum enhancement.