Ethics is at the heart of nursing practice and an understanding of it and what it means for nursing is essential from early in the career of any nurse. However, ethical concepts can be hard to grasp for those new to the subject. This book explains ethical ideas in easy to understand terms and relates ethics to day-to-day nursing situations to help readers apply principles to their practice. The book also challenges readers to consider their own values and where ethics fits into who they are and how they behave.

About the authors vi

Foreword vii

Acknowledgements ix

Introduction 1

Peter Ellis

1 Introducing ethics 4 Peter Ellis

2 Using reflection to develop inductive ethical understanding 21 Lioba Howatson-Jones

3 What ethics is and what ethics is not 35 Peter Ellis

4 Theories of ethics 51 Peter Ellis

5 Rights 68 Peter Ellis

6 Key areas in healthcare ethics (protecting and promoting autonomy) 83 Peter Ellis

7 Dilemmas at the start and end of life 101

Peter Ellis and Hilary Engward

8 Your ethical future 124 Hilary Engward

Glossary 139

References 145

Index 151

中国医科院医学信息研究所