Kathryn Weaver
University of New Brunswick, CANADA
Title: Teaching ETHICAL SENSITIVITY for psychiatric-mental health nursing practice
Biography
Biography: Kathryn Weaver
Abstract
Ethical sensitivity influences how those in need experience professional psychiatric care and services. For nurses who actively enter into the lives of people experiencing acute or chronic mental health conditions and illnesses, every encounter to help ease psychic pain and suffering requires developing sensitivity to preserve the integrity of clients and other stakeholders. To date, our knowledge of ethical sensitivity is largely inadequate and under-utilized in professional education. The present study thus explores approaches to enhancing ethical sensitivity development and resulting professional psychiatric nursing practice. Clinical and classroom strategies to help students recognize and morally respond to the ethical demands of practice were synthesized using research and theoretical literature. These strategies were matched to the various dimensions of ethical sensitivity explicated by analysis of their pragmatic utility. A framework of interventions is then proposed to address the ethical requirements for praxis beyond the technical requirements of the professional discipline. Using this framework, recommendations are made for building student capacity for receptivity and responsiveness, recognizing and processing ethical issues through interactive and transparent practices, identifying uncertainties within established terms of judgment, and developing the courage necessary to take perceived right actions. Progressively, students can learn to foresee the moral consequences of possible actions and to act in ways that preserve the integrity of clients and stakeholders. The findings suggest ethical sensitivity is enhanced through mindfully deliberating the salient features of a situation and integrating from multi-linked educational strategies.