EDAPT ETHICS IN LEADERSHIP
The actions of nurse leaders influence nurses to provide high-quality, ethical care by creating an environment
that values ethics, offers guidance, and prioritizes morality (Barkhordari-Sharifabad et al., 2017). Yet, both
novice and experienced nurse leaders face ethical challenges, including organizational roadblocks, self-doubt,
and moral distress. Therefore, this learning activity focuses on the ethical responsibilities of the nurse leader.
Which statement best describes ethics?
What our conduct and actions should be regarding what is right and good.
Ethics is the systematic study of what a person's conduct and actions should be about self, other human beings,
and the environment; it is the justification of what is right or good and the study of what a person's life and
relationships should be, not necessarily what they are.
Which statement regarding the MORAL decision-making model is true?
The decision-maker must find and evaluate many possible choices or actions.
MORAL is a decision-making model that is useful in clarifying ethical problems and it requires the decisionmaker to find and evaluate many possible choices or actions.
What is the role of the American Nurses Association (ANA) Code of Ethics with Interpretive Statements?
Functions as a guide to the highest standards of ethical practice for nurses.
The ANA Code of Ethics outlines the important general values, duties, and responsibilities that flow from the
specific role of being a nurse to achieve and maintain the highest standards. The document is not legally
binding nor is it a mandate of behavior.
The actions of nurse leaders influence nurses to provide high-quality, ethical care by creating an environment
that values ethics, offers guidance, and prioritizes morality. Yet, both novice and experienced nurse leaders
face ethical challenges, including organizational roadblocks, self-doubt, and moral distress.
Inconsistent behaviors of nurse leaders can lead to ethical problems with direct reports, peers, and clients.
These problems fall into three categories: ethical self-doubt, ethical conflict, and moral distress.
Ethical Self-Doubt
“I introduced an ethical example to others in a meeting, but my ethical act was associated with an adverse
result, which made a group of people upset. I thought I was introducing a model, but others thought that I was
accusing them of not acting ethically. Now, I do not know if it was ethical or not ...”
Ethical Conflict
“In my opinion, there is a great deal of ethical conflict about leadership and management issues in hospitals...
You don’t know who’s right, the patient or the ward nurse, because nurses work really hard on various shifts