This course conveys the ethical foundations and the ethical competence of nursing care: what ethics is and why it is central to nursing care, the core ethical principles (dignity, autonomy, beneficence/care, non-maleficence, justice), the tension between care and self-determination, dealing with ethical conflicts and dilemmas, ethical decision-making (ethics case consultation), ethics at the end of life, questions of truth/confidentiality, justice/resources and dealing with your own conscience (moral distress).

Course objectives:

  • Understand what ethics is and why it is central to nursing care
  • Know and apply the core ethical principles
  • Respect the dignity and self-determination of the person
  • Understand the tension between care and autonomy
  • Recognise ethical conflicts and make well-founded decisions
  • Deal with ethical strain and your own conscience

Self-study without supervision, assignments or assessment of learning progress by instructors; the voluntary self-reflection is for your own orientation only. Your confirmation of participation becomes available once you have marked all modules as done yourself.