Mortal Integrity In Nursing Education
Whats Is Moral Integrity
Moral integrity
is knowing what is right and what is wrong, acting on that knowledge even at
personal cost, verbalizing that one is acting on what is known to be the right
thing to do, and doing it with a high degree of consistency ( Laabs , 2007).
Moral integrity is a concern of each individual nurse and is necessary to
maintain a wholeness of character and an unassailable that is free from
corrupting influences or motives.
Implementations Mortal Integrity In Nursing Education
There is a high
expectation of morality in the profession of nursing, which is built on a firm
foundation of integrity values and codes reflecting high moral integrity and a
obligation to society. Accountability for personal nursing practice including
professional, social, and personal responsibility have been emphasized from
Florence Nightingale to the current day Code of Ethics for Nurses with
Interpretive Statements from the American Nurses Association (ANA, 2010).
Integrity is so important that according to the ANA (2010) it is “essential to
professional practice” (p. 7).
Although nursing
consistently receives top scores in the Gallup poll, Honesty/Ethics in
Professions (Gallup, 2013), nurses bring an array of value systems into the
profession. The actions of many nurses do not consistently reflect the
foundation of high moral integrity upon which the profession was built. For
example, in the last quarter of 2013 alone, there were an excess of 250
disciplinary actions taken by the Ohio Board of Nursing (2013).
is the expectation of all nurses even when facing pressure to act otherwise
(ANA, 2010). When under compulsion to compromise, nurses have a responsibility
to “express their conscientious objection to participation” (ANA, 2010, p. 20).
In light of this and the knowledge of the moral slide in society, it is
incumbent upon nursing educators to promote a standard of high moral integrity.
Mortal Integrity in a Historical View
As the Greek philosopher Plato, who believed the purpose of education was to
“form moral character” (Le Vasseur , as cited in Lachman , 2009, p. 7), so too,
nursing educators today must recognize the importance of instilling the ethical
component of moral integrity into nursing curriculum. Nightingale advocated for
moral courage in her nurses ( Lachman , 2009); This advocacy must continue
within the profession both to maintain the standards of previous generations of
nurses and to meet the expectation from society in general.
In addition,
nurses have a responsibility to themselves to maintain moral integrity. Nurses
who are unable to act in ways they think are morally right due to constraints
of external forces report moral distress ( Laabs , 2007). This may manifest as
feelings of “anger, guilt, powerlessness, and frustration” ( Laabs , 2007, p.
795) and can result in burnout. When faced with threats to integrity, nurses have
the duty to preserve both personal and professional values and only accept
integrity pre-serving compromise, which safeguards the dignity of the nurse and
others (ANA, 2010).
Impact of Mortal Integrity
Moral integrity
is knowing what is right and what is wrong and doing right at all times, even
at personal cost. According to Eby et al. (2013) “nursing has been spared the
ethical scandal of many other professions, but issues of compromised moral
integrity are growing in practice and education” (p. 1). The need for consistent
application of integrity among the profession of nursing is imperative for the
profession to fulfill its duty to the public and to maintain the trust of
populations. Without moral integrity, nursing will cease to be the ethical
profession it is perceived to be.
Outcomes of Mortal Integrity In Nursing Education
Literature
reports a normalization of dishonest behavior among students ( Arhin , 2009).
Both the character of the student and that of the teaching institution
influence the decision to deviate from acceptable practice ( Balik , Sharon,
Kelishek , & Tabak , 2010). In contrast to this, faculty stated they felt a
sense of ownership for the education of integrity ( Rosenkoetter & Milstead
, 2010). If this is true, there is a need for creation of an institutional
context that promotes positive change in integrity of the need for morality (
Balik et al., 2010).
Faculty must modify both classroom characteristics and
content delivered ( Balik et al., 2010) to instill a sense of value. and high
moral standards in the students they teach.Demonstrating a
similar pattern of decline in nursing academic arenas, McCabe (2009) reported a
higher rate of cheating and dishonesty among nursing students than among other
disciplines studied. The concern raised by faculty in the McCabe (2009) study suggested
a correlation between those students who are dishonest ( eg , plagiarism,
misrepresentation, and falsification, McNabb and Olmstead as cited in McCabe)
in academics and those who go on to be dishonest in practice as nursing
professionals.
To combat this, nursing educators need to develop expertise in
the concepts of moral literacy, in best practices for teaching moral integrity,
and in designing classroom experiences that bring students to a deeper level of
understanding of moral integrity in nursing practice (Gray, 2008) .Nursing
educators “model and develop professional ethics in students” (Gray, 2008, p.
333). In support of this role, there is a need for research on the concept of
moral integrity and of best practice for teaching moral integrity in nursing
education. The health of the profession of nursing may depend on educators, who
are the standard-bearers of professional and ethical behavior for future
members of the nursing profession (McCabe, 2009).