title: Ethical dilemmas facing chief nurses in Japan: A Pilot study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Chief nurses are most likely to take the lead in discussing and working to resolve ethical dilemmas, creating an ethical culture within their organization that results in effective ethics training. As the first step in this process, there is a need to define the kinds of ethical dilemmas that chief nurses grapple with on a regular basis as a target for future study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Anonymous written questionnaires and semi-structured interviews.
  
  
  METHODS
  All research procedures were approved by the Chubu University Ethics Review Board, the research institution to which the authors belong (authorization no. 250016).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Responses from four chief nurses indicated that ethical dilemmas could be categorized as either those related to patient dignity or those related to management (unique to their roles as administrators). It was also learned that chief nurses struggle with the fact that although they consult with their superiors and others, these efforts do not lead to resolution. The expectation is that going forward, chief nurses will play a central role in acting as coordinators with physicians to promote better communication as well as lead group discussions aimed at providing care that respects patient dignity.
authors.affiliation: Chubu University, Japan cito@isc.chubu.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Chiharu
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ito
authors.affiliation: Chubu University, Japan.
authors.forename: Mikiko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Natsume
mesh_terms: D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D003219:Confidentiality / Q000941:ethics; D003657:Decision Making / Q000941:ethics; D004993:Ethics, Nursing; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D008875:Middle Aged; D009718:Nurse Administrators / Q000941:ethics*; D009723:Nurse-Patient Relations; D015279:Organizational Culture; D019555:Physician-Nurse Relations; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011787:Quality of Health Care / Q000191:economics / Q000941:ethics*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: Chief nurse; ethical dilemma; nursing ethics; semi-structured interview