title: Empowering nurses to participate in ethical decision-making at the bedside.
abstract: Nurses at the bedside have widely varied educational backgrounds. Most bedside nurses have insufficient knowledge in the area of ethical decision-making to feel confident in their ability to participate in ethical decision-making along with the health care team. Continuing education programs for staff nurses should focus on ethical decision-making to empower bedside nurses to participate. The effect of a successful continuing education program in ethics could lead to improved relationships among health care professionals, improved communication with patients and families, and reduced stress-related burnout caused by ethical dilemmas. This article describes a successful continuing education program designed to improve knowledge of ethics and confidence in ethical decision-making that can be adapted for any nursing specialty.
authors.affiliation: Penn State University School of Nursing, Hershey, PA 17033, USA. cbicking@hmc.psu.edu
authors.forename: Cara
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bicking
mesh_terms: D003625:Data Collection; D003657:Decision Making / Q000941:ethics*; D004509:Education, Nursing, Continuing / Q000941:ethics*; D004993:Ethics, Nursing / Q000193:education*; D006801:Humans; D009740:Nursing Staff / Q000941:ethics*; D011209:Power, Psychological