Kontakt 2016, 18(2):e64-e68 | DOI: 10.1016/j.kontakt.2016.05.006

Specifics of nursing ethicsNursing - Review article

Jiří Šimek

Jihočeská univerzita v Českých Budějovicích, Zdravotně sociální fakulta, Ústav humanitních studií v pomáhajících profesích, České Budějovice, Česká republika

The classic division of the tasks of doctors and nurses to "cure" and "care" is no longer valid. Nevertheless, medical ethics, more oriented towards treatment, has a long-term tradition and is more theoretically elaborated. The reason can be seen in the traditional dominance in the medical field, but a bigger factor is obviously the difficulty to grasp the theoretical concept of the word "care". In the game there are at least two players who can equally fail. Not only their attitudes but also their real activities are accented. An important part of the care is the relationship; a phenomenon that also cannot be described by simple definitions.
To approach the understanding of the concept of care, a possibility is through the theoretical resolution of different paths of the moral development of man, elaborated by Carol Gilligan. It is possible to use the existential analysis of the "stay" of a human by Martin Heidegger, especially his concept of "coexistence" and his definition of worry or care about another person. It is possible to apply the definition of care according to Berenice Fisher and Joan Tronto and its consequences in the moral sphere. Deborah Fingfeld-Connett elaborated her own concept of nursing care, which is not based on abstract definitions or concepts, but it is a "meta-synthesis" of available qualitative studies that deal with the issue of care conceptualization in nursing. Nursing care depends not only on what the nurse does, but also on her personality. Therefore it is not possible to avoid the ethics of virtues, inspired either by the classic in this area - Aristotle, or by contemporary authors, such as the Australian philosopher Stan van Hooft.
The elaboration of ethics of care should help nurses to be more successful in their demanding profession. Also, adequate understanding of what I am doing leads to personal growth and to greater life satisfaction. Executives and managers will find an incentive for equipment and the organization of health facilities so that good care will be feasible.

Keywords: Nursing ethics; Moral development; Concept of nursing care; Ethics of virtues

Received: March 10, 2016; Revised: April 19, 2016; Accepted: May 19, 2016; Published: June 27, 2016  Show citation