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Everyday Ethics

  • Creator:   Kathy Schoonover-Shoffner
  • Updated:   9/12/2023
  • Contains:  66 items
Find resources examining practice issues, bioethical concerns, end-of-life decisions, and more in this collection discussing everyday ethical issues from a Christian nursing perspective. And don't miss the regular column, "Christian Ethics" by nurse ethicist Susan Salladay in every issue of JCN.
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Executive Summary: Transforming Moral Distress into Moral Resilience in Nursing

Rushton, Cynda Hylton; Schoonover-Shoffner, Kathy; Kennedy, Maureen Shawn

Journal of Christian Nursing. 34(2):82-86, April/June 2017.

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Have you ever felt like you knew the morally right thing to do, but institutional, procedural, or social constraints make doing the right thing nearly impossible? This article outlines strategies to address moral distress in nursing, which were developed by a collaborative project of nursing leaders in the United States. The article identifies what is needed to help individuals develop moral resilience and what organization can do to create environments that provide ethically grounded and humane care to patients and their families.

Hard Choices? Practice First With Simulation

Hartman, Karen; Salladay, Susan A.

Journal of Christian Nursing. 31(2):81-82, April/June 2014.

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Discover a hands-on practical method for exploring complicated ethical dilemmas and discovering effective resolutions.

The Place of Dignity in Everyday Ethics

O'Mathúna, Dónal P.

Journal of Christian Nursing. 28(1):12-18, January-March 2011.

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"Ethics" isn't just about life and death situations. How we treat patients and colleagues promotes (or demotes) human dignity and ethical conduct. What's entailed in always being ethical?

Encouraging Academic Honesty: A Nursing Imperative

Johanson, Linda S.

Journal of Christian Nursing. 27(3):267-271, July-September 2010.

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The integrity of the profession may be jeopardized as students who cheat graduate and enter nursing. Educators, students, school administration, and practicing nurses can discourage cheating and promote honesty.

No Easy Answers

Journal of Christian Nursing. 20(4):3, Fall 2003.

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An ethical dilemma puts us in a position where it is impossible to do the right thing. There are no good answers or perfect solutions, only painful choices. How can we make those choices faithfully?

Family Presence in Final Moments: A Precious Gift

Thacker, Karen S.; Long, Jeanne M.

Journal of Christian Nursing. 27(1):38-42, January-February-March 2010.

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A teenager's illness illustrates how family presence in the ICU and during resuscitation supports meeting physical, emotional, and spiritual needs.

Determined to Care

CANGELOSI, PAMELA R.

Journal of Christian Nursing. 24(4):216-217, October-December 2007.

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Have you ever cared for a client in a situation that was unacceptable, perhaps even unbearable?

Practice Against Our Beliefs

Tettelbach, Colly A.

Journal of Christian Nursing. 27(2):106-109, April-June 2010.

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What is "Right of Conscience," and what are the implications of repealing it for U.S. healthcare workers?

The Ethic of Care: A Christian Perspective

UUSTAL, DIANN B.

Journal of Christian Nursing. 20(4):13-17, Fall 2003.

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Is caring for or caring about someone a soft, intangible, elusive concept we take for granted? Have you noticed that it can sometimes be unnoticed or under-appreciated until it is missing? Too often the ethic of care is rhetoric rather than reality. What is or should be a Christian ethic of care?

The Right Thing — for the Right Reason

PRICE-HOSKINS, PAM

Journal of Christian Nursing. 21(4):6-12, Fall 2004.

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Worldview, ethics, and value systems seem far removed from the myriad decisions made during each shift for each patient. Whether or not we realize it, we view the world through the lens of our value system, which causes us to think and act in certain ways. What are humanistic and Christian value system lenses, and how are they different?

PLAYING GOD: Moral Tensions in Health Care

WHITE, BARBARA J.

Journal of Christian Nursing. 20(4):4-7, Fall 2003.

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Nurses face conflicting values and moral ambiguity. Just because we can do something, should we do it? When is enough, enough? What is a good death? Issues in bioethics boil down to two colliding factors: the new technological developments of Western medical practice and the rising cost of health care within the context of limited resources.

Can We Teach Integrity?

Highfield, Martha E. F.

Journal of Christian Nursing. 25(1):52, January-March 2008.

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Skillful and knowledgeable nurses with integrity promote good care. Those without integrity jeopardize care. Can integrity be taught?

Incorporating Spiritual Beliefs Into End-of-Life Care

Browning, Annette M.

Journal of Christian Nursing. 26(1):10-17, January-March 2009.

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Nurses identify end-of-life (EOL) decision making as the most frequent ethical dilemma faced in care of the critically ill. Research findings support the importance of spiritual beliefs in end-of-life decision making, but little is written on the subject. A new GUIDE© helps facilitate spiritual assessment and communication so patient and family wishes can be better represented in EOL decision making.

CLINICIAN-ASSISTED SUICIDE: Merciful Release or Unlawful Death?

SALLADAY, SUSAN A.

Journal of Christian Nursing. 21(4):14-17, Fall 2004.

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Nurses face complex ethical questions about end-of-life care and a patient's right to die a “good death.” An understanding of the different ethical and philosophical positions used to justify or deny the morality of euthanasia and clinician-assisted suicide is essential for Christian nurses.

Medical Futility: When Is Enough, Enough?

SALLADAY, SUSAN A.

Journal of Christian Nursing. 20(4):25-28, Fall 2003.

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Most healthcare professionals find the concept of medical futility difficult to understand. Patients and family members find it even more confusing. What is medical futility and how does it differ from thinking about euthanasia or palliative care? Is it unchristian?

Sorting Through the Stem Cell Hype

Sullivan, Dennis M.; Schoonover-Shoffner, Kathy

Journal of Christian Nursing. 24(4):182-189, October-December 2007.

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Are stem cell transplants a panacea for what ails us? What is involved in stem cell transplants? What, to date, tangible returns have occurred from stem cell research? To answer such questions nurses need a basic understanding of stem cells, current research, and the ethical debate surrounding embryonic stem cells.

HUMAN CLONING: Investigating the Issues.

O'MATHÚNA, DÓNAL P.

Journal of Christian Nursing. 20(4):20-24, Fall 2003.

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What is reproductive cloning, therapeutic cloning, somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT)? Scientists efforts to keep the term cloning out of discussions about producing human embryonic stem cells is an attempt to manipulate opinion about important ethical issues without actually addressing those issues.

Striving for Perfection: Can We Go Too Far?

Meyer, Kimberley R.

Journal of Christian Nursing. 24(4):206-211, October-December 2007.

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Enhancement technologies—the use of medicine, surgery, or technology to enhance or improve human capacities and characteristics—results in unanticipated consequences of identity issues, cultural complicity, and injustice. How should enhancement technologies be evaluated?

Gene Therapy Restoring Health

Sullivan, Dennis M.; Salladay, Susan A.

Journal of Christian Nursing. 24(4):199-205, October-December 2007.

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The Human Genome Project has provided a transcript of the human genetic code, opening up many advances in human genomics. However, some of the ethical implications are unsettling.

Postmodernism & Nursing: After the Honeymoon

O'MATHÚNA, DÓNAL P.

Journal of Christian Nursing. 21(3):4-11, Summer 2004.

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It is difficult to quantify the impact postmodernism has had in nursing. The questions people ask, and the ways they answer them, have changed. In postmodernism, we are left with nothing less than a situation where each individual is free to construct his/her own truths and retain those that they find useful, overthrowing ethical guidelines. (Includes Glossary of Postmodern Terms)

Pursuing Peace in a World at War

MILLER, ARLENE B.

Journal of Christian Nursing. 20(4):35-37, Fall 2003.

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Some Christians believe military service-even as a nurse-conflicts with loyalty to Christ. In times of war it is difficult to articulate these convictions, especially when our friends and relatives are sacrificing their lives in what is seen as a fight against evil. What are different perspectives on military service?

Sexual Practices and HIV: How Can Nurses Respond?

FLIKKEMA, MARY E.; BIERMA, KATHERINE

Journal of Christian Nursing. 24(1):26-29, January-March 2007.

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Caring for clients who are HIV+, promiscuous or homosexual can feel awkward. Obtaining a sexual health history is especially important, but often is deficient. Spiritual care frequently is neglected with homosexual and HIV-positive clients although they report intense feelings of anxiety, isolation, diminished self-worth, and guilt. Christ models how to care for isolated or stigmatized individuals.

Good Out Of HIV/AIDS?

Tazelaar, Grace

Journal of Christian Nursing. 24(1):8-14, January-March 2007.

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The disparity between the wealth of the developed world and the poverty of developing and undeveloped societies is exacerbated by HIV/AIDS. In 2005, there were approximately 3 million deaths from AIDS and 5 million new HIV infections around the world. Only 1% of persons infected with HIV/AIDS (300,000) were saved through treatment, and nearly all of those lived in wealthy, developed countries.
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