Ethical Sensitivity in Nursing Students: Developing a Context–based Education

Introduction & Background: With growing ethical challenges in health care systems, focusing on ethics education is essential to develop ethical sensitivity in nursing students. This should be based on clarifying experiences of ethical sensitivity in nursing students in care contexts. Methods: To determine a framework for ethical sensitivity education based on explaining experiences of ethical sensitivity in nursing students. A qualitative approach was used as the study design. Data were analyzed using the conventional content analysis method. Ten nursing students and two nursing instructors in different educational hospitals in an urban area of Iran were selected using a purposeful sampling method. In-depth and semi-structured interviews were used for data collection. The study protocol was approved by the Research Ethics Committee of medical university located in South of Iran. The ethical principles were carefully followed throughout the study. Results: Nursing student’s ethical sensitivity consists of ethical perception, affectivity, critically cognitive processing, and intimate cooperation. Based on categories and subcategories of ethical sensitivity, an educational framework for teaching ethical sensitivity including teaching-learning purpose, content and methods was developed. Conclusion: Based on the results, ethical sensitivity education should be based on a virtue–based approach with the aim of developing practical wisdom. The content and teaching–learning approaches that lead to the development of practical wisdom and evolution of all dimension of ethical sensitivity are suggested.