Nursing Code of Ethics: Provisions and Interpretative Statements for Emergency Nurses

Evaluation of advanced multi-purpose trauma moulage-based training on clinical skills for dealing with trauma-affected individuals in undergraduate nursing students

BACKGROUND

Simulation-based training courses have been developed and widely accepted.The use of simulators can prevent bitter consequences that may sometimes put human lives in danger. Increasing the skill of nursing students in dealing with trauma patients is of great importance. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of the simulation-based trauma training program for the management of trauma patients in nursing students.

METHOD

It is an observational approach that focuses on improving the learning of trauma care skills. For this study, 6th and 8th semester nursing students were selected by appropriate sampling method. Previously, these students completed the trauma training course without simulation. Training of trauma skills was done using multi-purpose trauma mollage And we subsequently analyzed the effectiveness of the trauma simulation training program using the OSCE test. In the inferential statistics section, after examining the data distribution (Kolmogrove-Smirnov and Shapiro-Wilk tests), the Wilcoxon test was used to measure significance. SPSS 22 software was used.

RESULTS

The results indicated that the lowest mean score obtained based on a scale of zero to one hundred was for the movement limitation of the injured long bone and the highest was in the skill of oral-nasal intubation and ventilation. The results of the paired t-test showed that clinical skills for dealing with trauma-affected individuals in undergraduate nursingafter simulation training was significantly higher .

CONCLUSION

The implementation of the simulation is accompanied by an increase in the skills of the participants, which leads to the application of the acquired knowledge in real-life scenarios and positive changes. In the learning of the participants, the evaluation of conventional trauma training in Iran, like other countries, shows the need for specialized training through simulation. To ensure the continued effectiveness of simulation-based trauma training courses, it is recommended that administrators and policymakers encourage regular faculty participation in the program. Long term effects of trauma simulators training in nursing student requires further study.

Moral courage of emergency nurses in care-limited environments: A mixed-methods study

BACKGROUND

Professional ethics in nursing exist to guide care and allow for decision-making to be patient-centered. In the current medicolegal landscape post-Roe and in light of bans on gender-affirming care, the decision-making processes of emergency nurses in the clinical environment of care as informed by both professional and personal ethics are an important area of inquiry.

AIM

The aim of this study was to examine the contribution of moral courage to decision-making by emergency nurses.

RESEARCH DESIGN

A mixed-methods exploratory sequential approach was used, using a standard demographics form and the Nurses Moral Courage Scale to collect quantitative data. These data were used to inform an interview guide for qualitative data collection. Situational analysis was used to analyze the interview data.

ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS

Prior to recruitment, this study was reviewed and approved by the University of Massachusetts IRB (#00003909). Participants were provided with an informed consent document at the time of registration and at the time of interview; participants provided both signed consent and verbal assent. Participants were assigned study codes to maintain anonymity and data were maintained in a secure University cloud.

PARTICIPANTS AND RESEARCH CONTEXT

US-based emergency nurses working in environments with care limitations.

RESULTS

70% of respondents reported that they would speak up if they were aware of a situation that was ethically challenging. Respondents reported that it was fairly easy or very easy to defend their values when addressing ancillary staff, coworkers, authorities outside the organization, patients, and patient families. Respondents reported challenges in defending their professional values to charge nurses, physicians, or administrators. In response to a serious ethical problem, 65.8% of respondents answered that they would bring up the problem for discussion, 21.1% would file an internal report, and 13.2% would report externally. Interview participants reported significant social and professional barriers to acting in response to an ethical violation. Willingness to act centered on personal values and not professional codes of ethics.

CONCLUSIONS

While emergency nurses in this study reported high perceived levels of moral courage, they also reported low willingness to act directly, citing burnout and significant social and professional barriers. Adherence to professional codes of ethics is not the primary driver of moral courage.

Ethical dilemmas, perceived risk, and motivation among nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic

BACKGROUND

Positioned at the frontlines of the battle against COVID-19 disease, nurses are at increased risk of contraction, yet as they feel obligated to provide care, they also experience ethical pressure.

RESEARCH QUESTION AND OBJECTIVES

The study examined how Israeli nurses respond to ethical dilemmas and tension during the COVID-19 outbreak, and to what extent this is associated with their perceived risk and motivation to provide care?

RESEARCH DESIGN

The study implemented a descriptive correlative study using a 53-section online questionnaire, including 4 open-ended questions.

PARTICIPANTS AND RESEARCH CONTEXT

The questionnaire was complete by 231 registered and intern nurses after being posted on nurses' Facebook and WhatsApp groups, and through snowball sampling.

ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS

The research was pre-approved by the ethics committee of the Faculty of Social Welfare and Health Sciences at the University of Haifa, Israel.

FINDINGS

In all, 68.8% of the respondents had received some form of training about COVID-19. Respondents positioned themselves at perceived high risk levels for contracting the virus. About one-third feared going to work because of potential contraction and due to feeling inadequately protected. While 40.9% were scared to care for COVID-19 patients, 74.7% did not believe they have the right to refuse to treat certain patients. When asked about defining an age limit for providing patients with scarce resources (such as ventilation machines) in cases of insufficient supplies, respondents stated that the maximum age in such scenarios should be 84 (standard deviation (SD = 19) - yet most respondents (81.4%) believed that every patient has the right to receive optimal treatment, regardless of their age and medical background.

DISCUSSION

Correlating with their strong commitment to care, nurses did not convey intention to leave the profession despite their stress, perceived risk, and feelings of insufficient support and protection at work. The nurses did not hold a utilitarian approach to resource allocation, thereby acknowledging the value of all people and their entitlement to care, regardless of optimal outcomes.

CONCLUSION

While experiencing significant personal risk and emotional burden, nurses conveyed strong dedication to providing care, and did not regret working in the nursing profession, yet they did seek a supportive climate for their needs and ethical concerns.