'...not just the premier
Christian bioethics institute in Britain,
but one of the finest in the
world, Christian or secular'
Most Rev. Anthony Fisher O.P., Auxiliary Bishop of Sydney
Ethics in Nursing Practice
Basic Principles and their Application
Contemporary nursing practice raises complex ethical
issues which demand the attention of nurses themselves and of everyone
concerned about ethical standards in the provision of health care. This
book is an attempt to study these issues in a systematic way, based on the
conviction that there are fundamental principles of morality which human
beings can grasp, defend by rational argument and apply in practice.
Contents
Foreword
Introduction
Nurses, the Nursing Profession and Ethical Problems
Ethical Problems in Nursing; What Help do the Professional Codes Give
Us?
Philosophy, Ethics, and Nursing Ethics
Morality and Objective Truth
Morality and the Flourishing of Persons
In Search of Fundamental Moral Principles
Moral Principles, Character and Integrity
Treating Patients with Respect
Problems of Honesty and Confidentiality
Problems of Life and Death (1)
Problems of Life and Death (2)
Problems of Life and Death (3)
Issues in Sexual Ethics
Professional Relationships and Professional Standards
Appendix: Some Suggestions for Further Reading
Index
Reviews
"This is a fine volume for the classroom. The
subject matter - nursing ethics- is very timely, and very necessary. Ethics
teachers in nursing schools will find this to be the answer to their prayers.
It is a presentation of ethics specifically for their students' specialty.
It is a faithful presentation of the Church's moral teaching applied to
the full spectrum of nursing care issues, from professional identity to
the necessity of ethical reflection on specific issues in medicine (abortion,
surgery etc) and back again to professional character and conduct. It is
clearly written and divided into manageable chapters and topics. It employs
practical examples at every turn taken from nurses themselves."
- Rev Russell E Smith
The Linacre
Quarterly Feb 1991
"...[T]his is a highly recommended textbook for all those
concerned with nursing and nurses' education and, in a wider sense, for
all engaged in the ethical framework of health care."
- Fr Bernado Domingues OP
Decisions Spring
1991
"This book goes a considerable way towards filling a gap which
Christian nurses may become aware of when studying ethics i.e. a clear exposition
of a Christian perspective on ethical issues affecting nursing."
- Dorothy Whyte
Ethics and Medicine
1991, 7.1
"There are interesting introductory
chapters which discuss nursing ethics as a distinct and important concern
and the arguments in favour of an objective morality are clearly stated."
"This is an interesting book whose arguments deserve to be read and considered,
and not only by Roman Catholic nurses."
- Philip Darbyshire
Nursing Times
"Much of the first half of the book is devoted to an explanation of
the philosophical basis of ethics. This makes interesting (although not
light) reading. ...The later chapters address more practical matters. Several
chapters are concerned with problems of life and death. ...Ethics in Nursing
Practice provides a different viewpoint than that provided by American ethics
writers and, for that reason, deserves a reading."
- Colleen Scanlon
Health Progress Dec 1989
"A scholarly
and detailed approach to health care ethics..." " I've no doubt it will
appeal to the converted and it deserves to be studied by non-Catholics."
Journal of Applied Philosophy
"Most of the first half of the book is an account and defence of the natural
law as the only true basis for all ethical decision-making and most of the
second half engages that foundation with the sorts of ethical problems which
arise inescapably and recurrently in nursing practice."
"Fitzpatrick's account of the natural law doctrine is...helpful in its
explication and use of the concepts central to that tradition..".
