J Korean Acad Nurs.  2004 Dec;34(8):1434-1442.

A Q-methodological Study on Nursing Students' Attitudes toward Nursing Ethics

• Yeun EJ
• Kwon YM
• Kim HK

Abstract

PURPOSE: Professional nursing ethics is a living, dynamic set of standards for nurses'professional moral behavior. Furthermore, in daily clinical nursing training, nursing students are constantly confronted with decisionmaking that is moral in nature. The aim of this study was to identify the perceived ethical attitudes in the clinical training process of senior nursing students using Q-methodology to offer basic strategies for nursing ethics education and thereby improve patients'care. METHODS: Q-methodology provides a scientific method for identifying perception structures that exist within certain individuals or groups. Thirty-seven participants in a university rated 38 selected Q-statements on a scale of 1-9. The collected data were analyzed using pc-QUNAL software. RESULTS: Principal component analysis identified 3 types of ethical attitudes in nursing students in Korea. The categories were labeled Sacred-life, Science-realistic and Humane-life. Sacred-life individuals think that a life belongs to an absolute power (God), not a man, and a human life is a high and noble thing. Science-realistic individuals disagreed that allowing an induced abortion or embryo (human) duplication is unethical behavior that provokes a trend, which takes the value of a life lightly; most of them took a utilitarian position with respect to ethical decisions. Humane-life individuals exhibit a tendency toward human-centered thought with respect to ethical attitudes. CONCLUSION: This study will be of interest to educators of students of nursing and hospital nursing administrators. Also, the findings may provide the basis for the development of more appropriate strategies to improve nursing ethics education programs.

Keyword

Attitude; Ethics; Nursing student; Q-methodology

MeSH Terms

Adaptation, Psychological
Analysis of Variance
*Attitude of Health Personnel/ethnology
Clinical Competence/standards
Decision Making
*Education, Nursing, Baccalaureate/ethics/standards
*Ethics, Nursing/education
Factor Analysis, Statistical
Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
Humanism
Humans
Interprofessional Relations/ethics
Korea
Morals
Needs Assessment
Nursing Methodology Research/methods
Patient Rights/ethics
Philosophy, Nursing
*Q-Sort
Religion and Psychology
Students, Nursing/*psychology
Value of Life