Jan. 22, 2009

Re-writing nursing ethics theory

Two Faculty of Nursing professors have written an introduction to nursing ethics theory so original that its theoretical model has been incorporated by the Canadian Nurses Association (CNA) into its recently released Code of Ethics for Registered Nurses.

Kathleen Oberle and Shelley Raffin Bouchal took over four years to craft Ethics in Canadian Nursing Practice: Navigating the Journey, a uniquely Canadian approach to nursing ethics theory and application.

The book is based on the values statements in the CNA Code of Ethics. “Part of the reason it took so long was that the Code of Ethics was revised after we started the project, and we had to make revisions to the manuscript to reflect these changes,” explains Oberle.

Written as an undergraduate textbook, the publication will also serve registered nurses. “While teaching the values in the Code of Ethics, we observed that it was sometimes difficult for nurses to understand how the Code could guide their ethical decision-making in specific situations. We felt a more detailed look at the values, together with clinical examples, would help nurses and nursing students make the transition from theory to practice” says Bouchal.
 
Designed for ease of reading, Ethics articulates both theory and clinical examples. Pedagogical features including text boxes, summaries, questions and exercises, research activities and key word lists help readers develop a fuller understanding of the nature of nursing ethics in the Canadian context.

The book is published by Pearson Education.