The Effect of a Course in Nursing Ethics on the Relationship Between Ethical Choice and Ethical Action in Baccalaureate Nursing Students

This study examined the effect of an ethics course on the variables of ethical choice and ethical action in baccalaureate nursing students. Data were collected from 17 students who were enrolled in a three-credit elective course in ethics and from 20 students who were matched for placement in the curriculum but who were not enrolled in the ethics course. The ethics course consisted of study of the major ethical principles and theories as well as guided ethical case analysis with emphasis on the role and responsibilities of the nurse. Ethical choice and ethical action were measured by Ketefian's Judgment About Nursing Decisions. The variables of moral choice and moral action were positively correlated r = .87 (p less than .001) in the students who were enrolled in the ethics course and they were negatively correlated at r = -.32 (p .34) in the students who were not enrolled in the ethics course. Overall scores of the two groups on both column A (Ethical Choice) and column B (Ethical Action) were not significantly different. The total scores of the ethics group were higher. The results of this study lend support to the inclusion of a course in ethics in nursing curricula. Continued research into this area should continue to be a high priority.