Moral agency in nursing: Islamic ethical perspectives

Area of Science:

• Bioethics
• Nursing Ethics
• Islamic Ethics

Background:

• Nursing ethics often relies on policies, codes, and principles for patient protection and accountability.
• Despite adherence to guidelines, nurses frequently experience moral distress and loss of professional meaning.
• Existing ethical frameworks may be insufficient for sustaining morally grounded practice in complex healthcare environments.

Purpose of the Study:

• To argue for a stronger focus on moral agency in nursing ethics.
• To explore Islamic ethical frameworks as a complementary perspective for ethical practice.
• To propose a reframing of nursing ethics to support reflective practitioners.

Main Methods:

• Structured normative conceptual analysis.
• Informed by contemporary scholarship in nursing ethics and Islamic bioethics.
• Comparative analysis of principle-based ethics and Islamic ethical traditions.

Main Results:

• Ethical principles alone are insufficient for sustained morally grounded practice.
• Moral agency is crucial for navigating complex clinical situations with integrity.
• Islamic ethics offers valuable concepts like moral intention, trust (amanah), and human dignity.

Conclusions:

• Nursing ethics requires a greater emphasis on moral agency.
• Islamic ethical frameworks can enrich ethical reflection in diverse healthcare settings.
• A reframed approach supports the development of ethically grounded nursing practitioners.