The Importance of Teaching Medical Ethics or Bioethics in Nursing Schools

You have to be professional but with all the cameras around it is easy to see a situation as funny. It is unfortunately just too tempting to some people. We have had the same thing occur at our hospital. No matter what you do, someone will continue to take photos of stuff line that and it will get around the internet. Diane

The example you mention is one of people clearly not thinking ethically at all. Either that, or their morals are completely self-centered; a distinct, though disturbing possibility.

You confuse the issue, however. You mention breaking rules and exceeding boundaries. That may be illegal (or less, it may be only breaking employer's requirements); but it isn't necessarily unethical. Consider Thoreau's musings on Civil Disobediance, for instance. Or the new movie coming out, Valkyrie. I would certainly argue that those who attempted to assassinate Hitler the evildoer were acting in a morally commendable manner while clearly breaking laws that most of their fellow citizens lacked the conscience or courage to rebel against. So, law and regulation does not equal ethics and morality. Their imperatives are usually different in contemporary society.

My impression after reading several threads here, and stirring the pot once or twice, is that many of our colleagues have little or no education in ethical thinking and moral application. Many of us seem to park at the door our responsibility to make choices based on moral application. Many of us advocate positions in discussion without providing a shred of ethical rationale. Many of us base our moral positions on what feels good, or 'seems right' without any consistent articulated ethical principles and methodologies. Many of us retreat into rather simplistic thinking instead of recognizing and confronting the complexities of ethical thinking and moral choices and applications.

Part of the problem, though, is that neither a society nor an institution can legislate or require that people want and work to be moral beings. I certainly think that ethics should be a constant part of any education where we are significantly impacting lives and outcomes. An employer can even tell prospective employees 'we subscribe to certain applied morals and require that our employees do the same within these walls.' Many religion-based hospitals and clinics used to do just that. But teaching 'bioethics' presupposes that we have some understanding of everyday ethics. Teaching an ethical specialty presupposes that we have some knowledge and understanding of applying ethical thinking and action as a cognitive activity in general. I contend that most of us lack the 'prereqs', the knowledge of general ethics and morals. Not just that people subscribe to different or various ethical systems and appplications; but that many of us don't consciously and cognitively apply any particular consistent articulated ethics and morals.

I am not suggesting that we lack moral concern. I am arguing that we most often choose moral positions based on intuition rather than cognition.

Personally, I think this thread would better fit over at General Discussions.