The nursing contribution to ethical decision making

Abstract

Background: In the neonatal care units of the University Hospitals of Zurich and Bern, the nurse´s role in ethical decision-making is well established. However, nurses often reported uncertainty with regard to introducing the premature infant’s situation from the nursing perspective in ethics rounds.
 Aims: To empower neonatal nurses in fulfilling their role in the multiprofessional decision-making process, we performed a practice development project. On the basis of the Iowa model we developed a checklist for presenting the nursing history of premature infants in an ethically competent and responsible way.
 Conclusions: The ‘checklist for nursing assessment in the context of ethical decision-making’, equips nurses for their professional contribution to ethics rounds, making them better prepared to present the nursing perspective in a structured and thorough manner.
 Implications for practice:
 * The Iowa model supports practice development even with limited data availability
 * The instrument invigorates the neonatal nurse´s role in the multiprofessional ethical decision-making process
 * It is crucial to involve peers in practice development