View all posts by Marsha FowlerBook “Nursing Ethics, 1880s to the Present: An Anthology of Lost Wisdom and Identity” A nurse friend and colleague recently contacted me to tell me of an interaction she had with a colleague of hers. My friend mentioned to her that she knew someone who had worked on the new … Continue reading AI Ain’t Never Been a Nurse: On AI and the 2025 Revision of the Code of Ethics for Nurses
Ethics
The Ocean We Navigate: A Metaphor for Professional Development in Nursing
Guest Contributor: Leah KorkisDirector of Clinical Education and Nursing Excellence, University of Southern California I grew up kayaking with my Dad off the shores of Kailua, Oahu. I remember with each stroke of my paddle the shifting winds blowing through my hair, the rhythmic lapping of waves, and the mysterious expanse stretching beneath and beyond. … Continue reading The Ocean We Navigate: A Metaphor for Professional Development in Nursing
Integrating the ANA Code of Ethics in Nursing Education: Advancing Equity and Care for Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities
Guest Contributors: Angela McClure and Katie DavisTexas Tech University Health Sciences Center School of Nursing Nursing education must be rooted in ethical standards that promote compassionate, competent, and equitable care for all individuals, including those with intellectual disabilities (ID). The American Nursing Association Code of Ethics guidesd the delivery of compassionate and skilled care, ensuring … Continue reading Integrating the ANA Code of Ethics in Nursing Education: Advancing Equity and Care for Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities
🤬 and Banned Words: Advancing our Scholarship and Activism of Outrage – Part II
My beloved aunt, my mother’s sister, was a Southerner, what one might have called a “genteel woman” who was never harsh but could be stern. There would be no thought of using a curse word; Heaven forfend! When the men cursed she said it was “a mite tee-jus” to have to listen. Should any of … Continue reading 🤬 and Banned Words: Advancing our Scholarship and Activism of Outrage – Part II
Banned Words and a Scholarship and Activism of Outrage
Introduction In their recent article, “Federal Government’s Growing Banned Words List Is Chilling Act of Censorship” (https://pen.org/banned-words-list/), Pen America compiled a list of 250 words unacceptable to the Trump administration that soon became a list of 350 words. Not to be outdone, Reuters, Gizmodo, The Washington Post, Propublica, More Perfect Union, Science, 404 Media, Popular … Continue reading Banned Words and a Scholarship and Activism of Outrage
Woe to those who make unjust laws
Ethical Knowing in NursingBlogs by Marsha Fowler Isaiah 10.1 Woe to those who make unjust laws, to those who issue oppressive decrees,2 to deprive the poor of their rights and withhold justice from the oppressed of my people,making widows their prey and robbing the fatherless.3 What will you do on the day of reckoning, when disaster comes from afar?To whom will you run for … Continue reading Woe to those who make unjust laws
Moral Duty, Ethical Mandate: Why Nurses Must Champion Mental Health Access
Contributor, Frances Okpaluba Should nurses view mental health access as a moral responsibility or an ethical requirement? Although these terms are frequently used synonymously, they possess a slight variation. Ethics represents the structured analysis of morality, while morals demonstrate the principles that influence our individual and professional decisions. For nurses, ethics and morals matter deeply. … Continue reading Moral Duty, Ethical Mandate: Why Nurses Must Champion Mental Health Access
Sister Marie Simone Roach: Guardian of the Discipline
In MemoriamGuardians of the Discipline Guest Contributor: Meghann BuycoPhD student in Nursing, Trinity Western University, Canada Source: https://www.clcurry.com/obituaries/108112 It is an absolute honour to feature Sister Marie Simone Roach (1922-2016) as a Guardian of our Discipline. Sister Roach grew up in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, Canada, and was brought up by a Roman Catholic family. … Continue reading Sister Marie Simone Roach: Guardian of the Discipline
Theories behind the Magical Touch!
Contributor: Kunta Gautam My clinical practice as a pediatric nurse practitioner resides in an outpatient urgent care setting next to the hospital's emergency department. In this blog post, I will share a clinical encounter that inspired reflection on the meaning of my practice as a nurse . A 14-year-old girl came to the clinic because … Continue reading Theories behind the Magical Touch!
Canadian Nurses and our ethical mandate: The impact of American politics
Contributors: Cameron R. Albright, Lisa Bland, Lisa Goldberg In our recently published commentary in the Halifax Examiner, “an independent, investigative, and adversarial news site” in Atlantic Canada, we three Canadian nurses address the disruptive and ethically reprehensible policies emerging from the United States (US).. By drawing attention to the Canadian Code of Ethics for Registered … Continue reading Canadian Nurses and our ethical mandate: The impact of American politics
False Equivalencies in Nursing Ethics
Part 1: A Call for Moral Clarity Sally Thorne’s March 11 (2025) “We Were Made for These Times” editorial in Nursing Inquiry stimulated a lively discussion among nurse leaders about our ethical obligations (see for example, our Nursology.net March 21st post). Given the tumultuous challenges we are confronting every day now, the group was energized … Continue reading False Equivalencies in Nursing Ethics
Ethical Considerations in Grounded Theory Research: Peplau’s Theory, Pattern Recognition, and Psychological Safety in the Nurse-Patient Relationship
Guest Contributor: Jitana Benton-LeePhD student in nursing at Texas Women's University Research in nursing has long emphasized the importance of the nurse-patient relationship as a foundational component of care. However, as nurse scholars, we must also critically examine how we ethically engage in research that seeks to understand this relationship, particularly through grounded theory methodologies. … Continue reading Ethical Considerations in Grounded Theory Research: Peplau’s Theory, Pattern Recognition, and Psychological Safety in the Nurse-Patient Relationship
Connecting hearts, saving lives: Joyce Travelbee’s human-to-human relationship model in the compassionate nursing care of a patient with suicidal ideation
Guest Contributor: Joana Margarida Martins Fernandes “I’m tired of being alive”: these were the first words I heard leave Pedro's lips (name changed). Pedro was found at home after committing self-harm with suicidal intent. The resident made the call for help in another room at the hostel where he lived. When I arrived, I told … Continue reading Connecting hearts, saving lives: Joyce Travelbee’s human-to-human relationship model in the compassionate nursing care of a patient with suicidal ideation
Jeanne Quint Benoliel (December 9, 1919 – January 23, 2012)
Guardian of the DisciplineIn Memoriam Contributor: Faith A. Tissot RN, CCRN, MSN-EdPhD student at Texas Women's University December 9, 1919 – January 23, 2012 Source: https://magazine.washington.edu/jeanne-quint-benoliel-1919-2012/ Distinguished nursing colleagues and scholars describe Dr. Benoliel as “a giant nurse pioneer and mentor in palliative care who gave nurses who care for the dying a voice.” Dr. Benoliel’s … Continue reading Jeanne Quint Benoliel (December 9, 1919 – January 23, 2012)
Rethinking Nursing: Moving Beyond Heroic Narratives
Guest Contributor: Hyeyoung HwangDNP/PhD student at the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing I still remember the excitement and nervousness I felt on the day of the Nightingale Pledge ceremony. Almost all nursing schools in South Korea, where I was born and raised, hold this ceremony to prepare nursing students for patient care. Before starting clinical … Continue reading Rethinking Nursing: Moving Beyond Heroic Narratives
Elevating Patient- Centered Care: Embracing Spiritual and Religious Diversity
Contributor: Faith Tissot, RN, MSN-Ed, CCRNDoctoral Student at Texas Women's University Spirituality, which can include religion and prayer, is a customary theme in nursing, healthcare research, and among healthcare professionals globally. Spirituality and religiousness are an adjunct for an individual to draw meaning from life events, a conduit for connectedness to an individual’s definition of … Continue reading Elevating Patient- Centered Care: Embracing Spiritual and Religious Diversity
The Power of Five Wishes: Nurse Knowing During End-of-Life Care
Contributor: Judith Pare The universality of death is a widely accepted phenomenon that many nurses deal with on an almost daily basis. The World Health Organization (2005) has stressed the importance of expert palliative and hospice care as a critical caring global need for people with heart failure, cancer, and other progressive terminal illnesses. For … Continue reading The Power of Five Wishes: Nurse Knowing During End-of-Life Care
Paid Preceptorship and the Nurse Practitioner Preceptor Shortage: An Ethical Dilemma
Contributor: Michelle Alexandre, MSN, ACNS-BC Nurse practitioner (NP) students are all too often faced with the challenge of securing their clinical preceptors (Doherty et al., 2020). Last year a colleague and owner of an NP preceptor matching company reached out to me offering me substantial monetary compensation to serve as one of their clinical preceptors. … Continue reading Paid Preceptorship and the Nurse Practitioner Preceptor Shortage: An Ethical Dilemma
Deception and Examination: Gleaning from Patterns of Knowing in Nursing to Expose Healthcare Fraud
Contributor: T'Neecia Leigh Applewhite MBA MS APRN FNP-C Nurses are not just the backbone of the healthcare systems worldwide but also the vigilant guardians against healthcare fraud. As the largest and most trusted healthcare occupation in the United States, with over 3.4 million registered nurses, we are more than just healthcare workers. We are innovative … Continue reading Deception and Examination: Gleaning from Patterns of Knowing in Nursing to Expose Healthcare Fraud
Identity-grounded Ethics: Ethical methodology and analysis of racism (and other -isms) in Nursing
There is little in the way of an ethical analysis of racism in the bioethical literature. Nor is there anything on racism that incorporates identity-grounded ethics in a bioethical analysis. Even more damning is the fact that racism, sexism, and classism (land ownership) are embedded in US Constitution and bioethics has yet to come to … Continue reading Identity-grounded Ethics: Ethical methodology and analysis of racism (and other -isms) in Nursing