Course Overview

This course explores the ethical foundations of nursing practice, providing students with the knowledge and skills to navigate complex moral dilemmas in healthcare. The course aims to provide a thorough introduction to the key themes in nursing ethics, including ethical principles, ethical decision-making, safeguarding privacy and confidentiality, professional standards, promoting ethical conduct in research and practice, and ensuring human rights and social justice. Students will examine major ethical theories, including deontology, utilitarianism, and virtue ethics, and apply core ethical principles such as autonomy, beneficence, nonmaleficence, and justice to real-world nursing scenarios. This course satisfies the ethical inquiry core foundation (FETI) requirement and advanced writing flag requirement (CADW).

Learning Outcomes:

Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to:

1. Evaluate major ethical theories, including deontology, utilitarianism, and virtue ethics, and apply ethical principles, including autonomy, beneficence, nonmaleficence, and justice to nursing practice. (Foundational Knowledge)
2. Utilize structured ethical decision-making frameworks to assess and resolve ethical dilemmas in patient care, professional practice, and healthcare policy. (Ethical Reasoning)
3. Analyze a contemporary ethical issue in healthcare from multiple perspectives, including identifying potential biases on the basis of social location (e.g., historical, cultural, gender, racial, economic, religious, ability, emerging technologies, etc.). (Perspectival Reflection)
4. Develop a well-reasoned judgment on a particular ethical issue, demonstrating nuance and ambiguity, as well as clarity and precision, in their thinking and writing about moral problems, concepts, and ideals. (Clarity of Argument)
5. Critically discuss current ethical issues in nursing, such as end-of-life care, genetic testing, resource allocation, cultural considerations, and the impact of emerging medical technologies while reflecting on and evaluating their own ethical decisions, actions, and practices, as well as on their obligations as morally responsible agents. (Ethical Self-Reflection)
6. Identify the legal and ethical obligations of nurses, including patient rights, confidentiality, informed consent, and professional boundaries, in accordance with the ANA Code of Ethics and relevant healthcare laws.