Prospects for Developing Ethical Sensitivity in Nursing, Engineering, and Other Technical Professions Education

Abstract

Ethical sensitivity (ES) influences how clients in any technical profession experience professional care or services. Most clearly this is the case in a profession such as nursing or biomedicine, but the virtue is relevant in other technical professions such as engineering. To date, our knowledge of ES is largely inadequate and under-utilized in professional education. Aims: The present study thus explores approaches to enhancing ES development and resulting professional practice, focusing initially on the case of nursing and extending toward other professions, with some special reference to engineering. Study Design: Exploratory; concept analysis.  Place and Duration of Study: Faculty of Nursing, University of New Brunswick and Department of Philosophy, Renmin University of China, Beijing, between June 2013 and July 2015. Methodology:  Clinical and classroom strategies to help students recognize and morally respond to the ethical demands of practice were synthesized using a sample of 200 articles and chapters from research and theoretical literature. These strategies were matched to the various dimensions of ES explicated by analysis of their pragmatic utility. Results: A framework of interventions is proposed to address the ethical requirements for praxis beyond the technical requirements of the professional discipline. Using this framework, recommendations are made for building student capacity for receptivity and responsiveness, recognizing and processing ethical issues through interactive and transparent practices, identifying uncertainties within established terms of judgment, and developing the courage necessary to take perceived right actions. Conclusion: Students are expected to recognize and process ethical issues through overt collaborative practices, knowledge of ethical principles and codes of ethics, and skilled reflexivity. Progressively, students can learn to foresee the moral consequences of possible actions and to act in ways that preserve the integrity of clients and stakeholders. The findings suggest ES is enhanced through mindfully deliberating the salient features of a situation and integrating from multi-linked educational strategies. What is relevant to nursing education may be useful to ethical education in engineering and other professions as well.