Describing the Ethical Landscape: Perspectives from Nursing Leaders in the U.S., Canada, Germany, Austria and Switzerland

The purpose of this descriptive project is to explore the ethical issues facing nurse leaders in today’s complex health care systems. Competencies in moral reasoning and ethical decision making are woven into the Essentials of Doctoral Education for Advanced Nursing Practice (AACN, 2006) with the aim of facilitating the development of ethical leaders in complex healthcare systems. Real world practice experiences/scenarios/narratives/ cases often act as the springboard for framing ethics education for DNP students. Identification of the ethical issues that face advanced practice nurse, nurse executives, and nurse leaders can inform ethics education and provide a necessary reflection of the ethical landscape in today’s complex health care systems. This project will survey Doctor of Nursing Practice prepared Advanced Practice Nurses and Nurse Executives in the U.S. and Directors and Deputy Directors of Nursing in Germany, Switzerland, and Austria. Additionally, this project will explore levels of moral distress and narratives of encounters with ethical issues in nursing leadership. A convenience sample of nurse leaders who are members of professional Doctor of Nursing Practice organizations in the United States and members of professional nursing organizations in Germany, Switzerland, and Austria will be surveyed.