Moral character development in nursing students: a qualitative content analysis in Iran

Area of Science:

• Nursing Education
• Bioethics
• Moral Development

Background:

• Nursing is a moral profession demanding virtues like compassion and integrity.
• Ethical care delivery faces challenges such as moral distress.
• Factors influencing nursing students' moral character development require exploration.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore nursing students' perceptions of factors shaping their moral character.
• To understand the multifaceted influences on ethical development in future nurses.

Main Methods:

• Qualitative descriptive study utilizing conventional content analysis.
• Semi-structured interviews with 16 nursing students (Bachelor's and Master's).
• Data analysis followed Graneheim and Lundman's approach, ensuring trustworthiness through established strategies.

Main Results:

• Four themes emerged: inner motivations/values, relational dynamics/communication, moral learning in practice, and systemic/organizational influences.
• Key sub-themes included intrinsic motivation, role modeling, ethics education, and clinical ethical climate.
• Religious values and relational role models were particularly significant in this cohort.

Conclusions:

• Moral character development is a dynamic, multifaceted process influenced by personal, social, educational, and institutional factors.
• Resilience and integrity are crucial virtues for navigating moral distress in nursing.
• Findings inform bioethics curricula and policy to enhance moral resilience in nursing students.