Ethical Decision-Making among Intensive Care Unit and Operating Room Nurses

Abstract

Objective: This study was conducted to identify the levels of ethical decision making of nurses and the factors affecting it. Material and Methods: The sample of this descriptive study included 232 nurses working in the operating room and the intensive care unit at three different hospitals. Data were collected using a personal information form and a Nursing Ethical Dilemma Test. The 3 sub-dimensions of the scale are Principle Thinking, Practical Considerations, and Familiarity. Data were analyzed by Statistical Package for the Social Sciences Statistics 16.0 (SPSS Inc.; Chicago, IL, USA) package program, with mean, standard deviation, Mann–Whitney U test, and Kruskal–Wallis test. Results: The Principle Thinking point average of 45.60±7.45 and the Practical Considerations point average of 21.09±4.23 were rated as medium level. Familiarity point average was 16.12±3.99. The difference between the Practical Consideration scores according to thegender and places of work of the nurses was significant. According to the educational status of the nurses, the average Principle Thinking points differed significantly. The difference between the Familiarity score averages of the nurses was found to be significant according to the duration of the work experience and the place of work. Conclusion: It was confirmed that the nurses were on familiar with ethical dilemmas, they were capable of average ethical decision making when facing ethical dilemmas, and their ethical decisions were affected by environmental factors. It is suggested that ethical decision making should be taught in nursing education and in-service training.