title: What does it mean to blow the whistle?
abstract: Whistle blowing causes people to pay attention. An alarm has been sounded drawing attention to a particular set of circumstances. When nurses blow the whistle because of unethical or incompetent colleagues, they are going public with this information. Yet, even though nurses are able to provide an ethical justification for the action, not all will look favorably on what has been done. This article examines the concept of whistle blowing, its relationship to advocacy, and some consequences of whistle blowing. This article provides recommendations for educators, health care agencies, and nurses as ways to support nurses who choose to blow the whistle.
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Promotion and Development, School of Nursing, University of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. jae001+@pitt.edu
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Erlen
mesh_terms: D003657:Decision Making; D004993:Ethics, Nursing; D006801:Humans; D009726:Nurses / Q000523:psychology; D016134:Organizational Policy; D010344:Patient Advocacy; D011361:Professional Competence; D011787:Quality of Health Care; D012944:Social Support; D014342:Truth Disclosure