Moral reasoning and the student nurse

Area of Science:

• Nursing Education
• Moral Development
• Ethics in Healthcare

Background:

• Traditional nurse education prioritizes knowledge and skills over social and moral dimensions.
• The social and moral aspects of the nursing role are often overlooked in current curricula.

Purpose of the Study:

• To advocate for the inclusion of substantial moral issue consideration in nurse education.
• To propose Kohlberg's model of moral development as a theoretical framework for nursing ethics.

Main Methods:

• Utilizing Kohlberg's cognitive-developmental approach, assessing reasoning through hypothetical dilemmas.
• Exploring methods for incorporating moral dilemma discussions into a dedicated nursing curriculum module.

Main Results:

• Kohlberg's model identifies six distinct stages of moral reasoning.
• Moral development progresses through active resolution of conflicts presented by dilemmas.

Conclusions:

• Integrating moral reasoning modules can enhance the ethical preparedness of nurses.
• Kohlberg's framework offers a structured approach to teaching and assessing moral development in nursing.