Ethical/moral experiences of oncology nurses.
OBJECTIVE
To describe the ethical/moral situations that oncology nurses report experiencing.


METHODS
Descriptive, exploratory, qualitative.


METHODS
United States.


METHODS
Seventy nurses selected randomly from the Oncology Nursing Society Membership Directory.


METHODS
The participants responded in writing to the following question: Describe an oncology clinical situation in which you experienced ethical/moral questions. Share all the thoughts, perceptions, and feelings you can recall until you have no more to say about the situation.


RESULTS
Most of the experiences these oncology nurses reported reflected a care perspective; focused on the moral principles of autonomy, beneficence, nonmaleficence, fidelity, and truth telling; and revealed moral themes of suffering, secrets, and struggle.


CONCLUSIONS
Oncology nurses in this study experienced ethical/moral situations related to a care perspective rather than a justice perspective, and this information provides a beginning oncology nursing ethics framework.


CONCLUSIONS
Oncology nursing preparation should include ethical content based on the actual experiences of oncology nurses.
O'Connor
K F
KF
Department of Graduate Nursing Science, California State University, USA.
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D004993:Ethics, Nursing; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009014:Morals; D009723:Nurse-Patient Relations; D009859:Oncology Nursing; D010358:Patient Participation; D011340:Problem Solving; D014481:United States