Hospitals--Nephrological services

An exploratory-descriptive study of the processes involved in ethical evaluations by nephrology nurse administrators is presented. Five participants provided data from open interviews. Category coding involved Ray's (1989) Theory of Bureaucratic Caring, and Husted & Husted's (1995) definitions of ethical principles. It was discovered that the nurses most frequently utilized the principle of beneficence, and were often affected by the contextual factors of past experiences. It was determined that the nurses engaged in a common process of ethical evaluation, identified in the Common Ethical Ground Conceptual Model. The common nursing goal was the well-being of patients, and the creation of environments which enhanced patient well-being. Patient education was identified as a method to reach this goal during an era of economic constraint.