Paper
Friday, July 23, 2004
10:00 AM - 10:30 AM
Friday, July 23, 2004
3:00 PM - 3:30 PM
Exploring Moral Concerns and Ethical Practices Among Japanese Nurses in End-of-Life Care as a Foundation for the Professional Nursing Community
Shigeko (Seiko) Izumi, RN, PhD, School of Nursing, School of Nursing, Fukuoka Prefectural University, Tagawa, Fukuoka, Japan
Objectives: The purpose of this study was to establish a common moral ground for Japanese nurses in their care for dying patients by describing their moral concerns and understanding how these moral concerns are implemented in actual ethical practice. Design: This study used the hermeneutic approach to access ethical values and their implementation that are often taken-for-granted in nurses' everyday practice. Population, Sample, Setting, Years: Nurses who had more than one year of experience in end-of-life care were recruited from three general hospitals in the Tokyo Metropolitan area. Thirty-two nurses received an individual interview during the period of September 2002 to February 2003. Methods: During interviews, the participants were asked to tell about experiences associated with feeling "good/bad" or "right/wrong" while caring for dying patients. The tape-recorded interviews were later transcribed verbatim and analyzed using strategies commonly used in hermeneutic inquiry. This study was reviewed and approved by the institutional review board at the researcher's institution as well as the hospitals where the nurses were recruited. Findings: Seven moral concerns shared by Japanese nurses in end-of-life care were identified. Involvement, attunement, and responsiveness were identified as skills necessary to put these moral concerns into ethical practice. Nurses learn and obtain these skills by watching and hearing about other nurses' good practices and through their own trial and error experiences. Conclusions: This study indicates that Japanese nurses share moral concerns; however, implementing these moral concerns requires certain skills for ethical practice. By telling their concerns and sharing their experiences, nurses can learn these skills from each other. Implications: The study suggests the need to establish a community where nurses can share, learn, and be inspired from other nurses' experiences.
Back to Posters II
Back to 15th International Nursing Research Congress
Sigma Theta Tau International
July 22-24, 2004