Publication

Utilitarian and common-sense morality discussions in intercultural nursing practice

Hanssen, Ingrid
; 
Alpers, Lise-Merete
Author(s)
Hanssen, Ingrid
Alpers, Lise-Merete
Contributor(s)
Keywords
common-sense morality
intercultural nursing
moral stress
utilitarian ethics
GE Subjects
Economic ethics
Bioethics
Labour/professional ethics
Technology ethics
Medical ethics
Health ethics
Collections
Intercultural Ethics
Show all metadata
Research Projects
Organizational Units
Journal Issue
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12424/3992698
Online Access
https://globethics.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0969733009355544
Abstract
Two areas of ethical conflict in intercultural nursing — who needs single rooms more, and how far should nurses go to comply with ethnic minority patients’ wishes? — are discussed from a utilitarian and common-sense morality point of view. These theories may mirror nurses’ way of thinking better than principled ethics, and both philosophies play a significant role in shaping nurses’ decision making. Questions concerning room allocation, noisy behaviour, and demands that nurses are unprepared or unequipped for may be hard to cope with owing to physical restrictions and other patients’ needs. Unsolvable problems may cause stress and a bad conscience as no solution is ‘right’ for all the patients concerned. Nurses experience a moral state of disequilibrium, which occurs when they feel responsible for the outcomes of their actions in situations that have no clear-cut solution.
Note(s)
Topic
Type
Article
Date
2010-03
Identifier
SAGE-10.1177/0969733009355544
ISSN-0969-7330
http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0969733009355544
ISBN
DOI
10.1177/0969733009355544
Copyright/License
SAGE Publications
Embedded videos