Ethical Conflicts Reported by Registered Nurse/Certified Diabetes Educators

Abstract

The purpose of this pilot study was to identify types of ethical conflicts reported by Certified Diabetes Educators who also are Registered Nurses (RN/CDEs). Ethical conflicts expressed by RN/CDEs in active practice in Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia were described by these healthcare professionals. Each conflict was analyzed according to three themes: the practice context, the ethical principles in conflict, and how the conflict was experienced by the nurse subject. The majority of ethical conflicts (75%) concerned disagreement with the quality of medical care the patient was receiving. The principles most often in conflict were beneficence and nonmaleficence. Most conflicts were experienced as dilemmas (two or more principles that seem to apply but support mutually inconsistent courses of action).