[Moral action in nursing. Considerations from an ethical viewpoint]

Moral action in nursing: reflections from an ethical point of view Does nursing need specific ethics? This question will be answered in two stages. First the history of how the profession came into being will be summarised. In the second stage the opportunities and the limitations will be touched on, regarding the shape of the profession. A short presentation of Kohlberg's theory is the starting point for an attempt to reconstruct the origins of moral competence. How far nursing will accept this is questioned. Ambivalence in the ideology of the caring-relationship is examined.