Professional moral courage and moral reasoning among nurses in clinical environments: a multivariate model

Improving ethical practice needs recognizing the relationship between moral reasoning and moral courage among nurses. We examined factors (moral reasoning, practical consideration, moral dilemmas familiarity, and demographic and work characteristics) associated with moral courage among nurses. A cross-sectional design was run at all five hospitals affiliated to Hamadan University of Medical Sciences in west of Iran. A proportionate random sampling due to the total size of the nurse population in each hospital, 224 eligible nurses were completed the study questionnaires: demographic-work characteristics, Professional Moral Courage (PMC), and Nursing Dilemma Test. The relationships were examined by multiple regression analysis. Participants reported a more than moderate level of moral reasoning and PMC (43.21±5.98 and 56.16±10.18 respectively). The multivariate model showed the nurses’ PMC is positively predisposed with moral reasoning (β=0.21, p<0.01), but negatively with practical consideration (β=-0.16, p<0.01). More moral courage was found in the nurses who were never married (p<0.001), graduated from a public university (p<0.01), working in the critical care and emergency environments, as well as night shifts (all p<0.001). Moral reasoning is a predictor of moral courage, and both should be considered in designing nursing education to improve ethical nursing practice.

Moral Injury in Social Work: Responses, Prevention, and Advocacy

Throughout social work’s history, some practitioners and their employing organizations have caused harm. This article explores the concept of moral injury and its relevance to the social work profession. The author explores essential components of a meaningful response to moral injury in social work that simultaneously acknowledges the impact of moral injury on individual victims and addresses the need for structural reform. The author discusses the nature and causes of moral injury, prevention strategies (including the need for practitioner self-care and organizational and community advocacy), the role of apology, restorative justice, and moral courage.

Is helicopter parenting stifling moral courage and promoting moral disengagement? Implications for the training and development of millennial managers

Purpose This paper aims to examine the ethical foundations of Gen Z individuals by studying the impact of helicopter parenting on moral courage and moral disengagement. In addition, this study considers the implications for Millennial generation managers that are likely to be supervising this current generational cohort. Design/methodology/approach Hypotheses were tested using a two-wave online survey of 215 undergraduate students. Findings Helicopter parenting was associated with lower levels of moral courage and an elevated propensity to morally disengage in a sample of Gen Z individuals. The impact of helicopter parenting on these moral foundations was mediated by the children’s increased desire for continued parental involvement in their lives. Practical implications Similar to the Gen Z students surveyed in this study, many Millennials were raised by helicopter parents, thus, it is likely that they are also prone to moral disengagement and low moral courage. Furthermore, Millennial managers will be managing Gen Z workers. Thus, many companies will need to enhance their efforts in providing Millennial managers with business ethics training aimed at developing moral courage and reducing moral disengagement. Originality/value This study examines a previously unidentified antecedent of moral courage and moral disengagement

So you think you are an ally? Effects of (in)congruence between men's and women's allyship perceptions on women's inclusion and vitality

As public consciousness of sexism is increasing in the workplace (e.g., #MeToo movement), labeling oneself as an ally (e.g., UN HeforShe campaign) is becoming more socially desirable for men. However, do women agree with such men in their assessments of being allies? In particular, how do women’s perspectives of men’s allyship affect their own inclusion-relevant outcomes? Using a multi-informant design and data from 101 men-women colleague pairs, this study considered men’s self-perceptions and women’s other-reports of men’s key allyship-relevant characteristics - justice, moral courage, emotional intelligence, civility, and allyship. Polynomial regression and response surface analyses revealed differential impacts of (in)congruence between men’s and women’s perceptions on women’s sense of inclusion and vitality. Simply, when women perceived men as higher (or the same) in justice, moral courage, emotional intelligence, and civility than men reported themselves, it positively predicted women’s outcomes. This suggests that humble self-presentation by men on characteristics that are parallel to allyship (but not allyship) may be ideal. Yet, both under- and over-estimation by men on allyship itself predicted poorer outcomes for women, suggesting that the ideal is for men to have an accurate assessment of their own strengths and weaknesses as an ally.

Iranian nurses’ views on barriers to moral courage in practice: A qualitative descriptive study

Background Nursing is a caring profession. Due to the nature of their work, nurses need to have the moral courage to deliver safe nursing care. Research results have reported a low level of moral courage in the majority of nurses. The current study aimed to identify the barriers to show moral courage in Iranian nurses. Methods This study was qualitative research that was conducted using conventional content analysis. Data was gathered using in-person, semi-structured, in-depth interviews. Interviews were conducted from March to September 2020. Purposeful sampling was used and sampling was continued until data saturation was reached. Participants were 19 nurses working in hospitals in Iran. Results According to data analysis, six categories and three themes were extracted. Themes are “organizational failure”, “deterrent personal identity” and “defeated professional identity”. Conclusions The results of this study revealed the barriers to show moral courage which were usually overlooked in previous quantitative studies. It appears that the elimination of these barriers is an effective step in the improvemalet of nurses’ competencies. The results of this study can be helpful in the developmalet of programs to address the factors affecting nurses’ moral courage.