title: Student nurses' experiences of preserved dignity in perioperative practice - Part I.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  In recent years, operating theatre nurse students' education focussed on ethical value issues and how the patient's dignity is respected in the perioperative practice. Health professionals are frequently confronted with ethical issues that can impact on patient's care during surgery.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The objective of this study was to present what operating theatre nurse students experienced and interpreted as preserved dignity in perioperative practice.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study has a descriptive design with a hermeneutic approach. Data were collected using Flanagan's critical incident technique.
  
  
  METHODS
  Operating theatre nurse students from Sweden and Norway participated and collected data in 2011, after education in ethics and dignity. Data consisting of 47 written stories and the text were analysed with hermeneutical text interpretation.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study was conducted accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki and approved by a local University Ethics Research Committee.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The findings revealed that students experienced that operating theatre nurses perserved patient's dignity in perioperative practice by being present for each other and making themselves known to the patient. Operating theatre nurses caring for the patient by being compassionate and preserved the patient privacy. The new understanding that emerged was that the operating theatre nurse students understood that the operating theatre nurse wanted to care for the patient like a human being.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In the discussion, we have illuminated how professional ethics may be threatened by more pragmatic and utilitarian arguments contained in regulations and transplant act.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Preserved dignity is an ethical and caring act. Ethical questions and how to preserve dignity in perioperative practice should be discussed more both in educations of healthcare professionals and in clinical practice.
authors.affiliation: Karlstad University, Sweden ann-catrin.blomberg@kau.se.
authors.forename: Ann-Catrin
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Blomberg
authors.affiliation: Oslo and Akershus University College of Applied Sciences, Norway.
authors.forename: Elin
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Willassen
authors.affiliation: Åbo Akademi, Finland.
authors.forename: Iréne
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: von Post
authors.affiliation: Karlstad University, Sweden; Oslo and Akershus University College of Applied Sciences, Norway.
authors.forename: Lillemor
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lindwall
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D004993:Ethics, Nursing; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009664:Norway; D013527:Perioperative Nursing / Q000193:education / Q000941:ethics*; D059035:Perioperative Period; D028723:Personhood; D013338:Students, Nursing / Q000523:psychology*; D013548:Sweden
keywords: Caring science; hermeneutic; human dignity; operating theatre nurse; perioperative practice