A Study of the Moral Sensitivity of Nurses and Nursing Students in Korea

Abstract

This article reports on the results of a study of nurses and nursing students` sensitivity to the ethical dimensions of nursing practice. The sample consisted of 215 nursing students from two nursing colleges and 283 nurses working in two medical centers. The instrument used was the Moral Sensitivity Questionnaire(MSQ), a self-reporting Likert-type questionnaire consisting of 30 assumptions related to moral sensitivity in health-care practice. Each of these assumptions was categorized into a theoretical dimension of moral sensitivity: relational orientation, structuring moral meaning, expressing benevolence, modifying autonomy, experiencing moral conflict, and following rules. In structuring moral meaning, relational orientation, and following rules, significant differences were found between nurses and nursing students. However, a significant difference in the general characteristics of subjects was not found.