This title is directed primarily towards health care professionals outside of the United States. The authors have developed a holistic approach that explores: ethics in hospital and community settings, inter-disciplinary teamwork, ward and hospital management, nursing research, performance management and the political ethics of nursing administration, health service re-structuring and reform. The content has been substantially revised for this edition and significant new material added to reflect developments in theory and practice.
New to this edition
• An up-to-date analysis of professions in the context of modernity, to enable health professionals to make sense of global cultural & social developments
• An analysis of the ethics of evidence-based practice
• An examination of professional accountability and ethics in performance management to help practitioners/managers understand the ethical basis of management
• useful web links and teaching notes on a dedicated website:
http://evolve.elsevier.com/Thompson/nursingethics/
Key Features
- covers a wide range of ethical issues - much more than just ‘clinical' dilemmas and decision-making skills
- a down-to-earth and practical approach to applied ethics
- user-friendly layout
- material on moral theory kept to a minimum (but dealt with thoroughly at the end of the book)
- focuses on ethical issues in nursing and case studies taken from nursing practice i.e. the concrete concerns of nurses and other front-line workers
- pedagogical features include: chapter aims, learning outcomes and further reading for possible essay, tutorial and project topics
- also useful as a general work of reference on ethic in health care
Author Information
By Ian E. Thompson, BA(Hons), PhD, Former Professor of Ethics and Philosophy, University of Notre Dame Australia; Fremantle, Western Australia & Honorary Research Fellow, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK; Kath M. Melia, BNurs(Manc), PhD, Professor of Nursing Studies, Faculty of Social Science, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK; Kenneth M. Boyd, Scottish Director, Institute of Medical Ethics, Edinburgh, UK and Dorothy Horsburgh, PhD, MEd, BA(Hons), RGN, DipCNE, RNT, RCNT, Senior Lecturer - Research Awards, School of Nursing, Midwifery and Social Care, Faculty of Health, Life and Social Sciences, Edinburgh Napier University, UK
INTRODUCTION Ethics in nursing — continuity and change
PART 1 Cultural issues, methods and approaches to nursing ethics
1. Nursing ethics: historical, cultural and professional perspectives
2. Nursing ethics – what do we mean by ‘ethics’?
PART 2 Socialisation, professionalisation and nursing values
3. Becoming a nurse and member of the profession
4. Power and responsibility in nursing practice and management
5. Professional responsibility and accountability in nursing
PART 3 Nursing ethics – issues in clinical practice
6. Classical areas of controversy in nursing and biomedical ethics
7. Direct responsibility in nurse/patient relationships
8. Conflicting demands in nursing groups of patients
PART 4 Ethics in nursing management, research and teaching
9. Ethics in healthcare management: research, evaluation and performance management
10. The political ethics of healthcare: health policies and resource allocation
11. Corporate ethics in healthcare: strategic planning and ethical policy development
PART 5 Ethical decision-making and moral theory
12. Making moral decisions and being able to justify our actions
13. The relevance of moral theory: justifying our ethical policies