I wouldn’t say my opinions on nurses’ contribution to ethical research has changed, but more so I gained a deeper understanding of nurse involvement in ethics. While conducting research in an ethical way may seem black and white that is not always the case as shown in “Miss Evers’ Boys”. Miss Evers believed she was doing the right thing at first in helping her friends get treatment for syphilis. However, she later found out the motives of the doctors, and that many of the men were under the impression that they were receiving treatment, but were not, and essentially left to die. Miss Evers continued with the study and provided comfort treatment to the men in the study.
In this case especially, it is very important for nurses to know the historical evolution and principles of research ethics to prevent something like the Tuskegee Syphilis experiment from happening again in the future. It is important for healthcare professionals to gain insight from where there have been ethical conflicts in the past and work to make their research safe, transparent, and ethical for everyone.
Throughout working towards the course objectives and doing research and appraising evidence I was able to get a good idea on which research is ethical (objectives 1+2). Objective 3 states “recognize the important leadership contributions that each nurse can make to implement EBP to promote safe, quality, nursing care”. This objective resonates with me the most when thinking about promoting safe and ethical research and nursing care. By keeping this in mind, I will be able to work towards providing quality evidence based care and continue to be an advocate for patients.
Recent Comments