The Moral Reasoning of Nurse Practitioners

This qualitative research study was conducted to describe the moral reasoning utilized by participating nurse practitioners to resolve moral dilemmas in their clinical practice. Five major essential features of moral reasoning emerged from the data: the contextual framework for moral reasoning, values, influencing factors, recognizing the dilemma, and outcomes. The interrelationship of the essential features of moral reasoning provided insight into how NPs deal with moral dilemmas as well as the role that caring and the nurse-patient relationship played as a part of the moral decision making process.