Is nursing ethics education in disarray?

In the first chapter, Marsha quotes extensively from the Standardised and Mandated National League for Nursing Education Ethics Requirements for Nursing Education 1915-1919.These include: customary morality; personal or reflective morality; ethical ideals and standards; moral judgement; conduct and character; the place of 'the self' in the moral life; the social virtues; ethical principles as applied to community life; principles of ethics applied to one's work or professional life; and principles of ethics as applied to one's personal life.The detail given for each of the ten classes is extensive.A century later, Pam Grace suggests that 'ethics education in nursing is in disarray'.2 She argues that there is no consensus about what should be taught and how, nor any detailed knowledge about how ethics is taught (or learned) internationally.There is, Pam suggests, a growing body of evidence that suggests that many nurses do not feel that their ethics education prepares then for professional life.All of us have an individual responsibility to work, as well as we are able, to prepare our students for ethical practice.However, this cannot be done by individuals working in isolation.Regulators and professional bodies must provide the necessary professional leadership.In the United Kingdom at least, they have failed to do this.In the United Kingdom, there is no explicitly stated curriculum for pre-registration nursing.The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) publishes Standards of Proficiency for Registered Nurses, 3 a document which specifies the knowledge and skills needed by registered nurses.Universities must demonstrate that their courses prepare their students to meet these standards.The word 'ethics' and its cognates appear just twice in the document: once, specifically, in relation to research ethics and once more generally as follows: …the registered nurse will be able to (p. 8) 3 understand and apply relevant legal, regulatory and governance requirements, policies, and ethical frameworks, including any mandatory reporting duties, to all