Week 7: Ethics-in-Action: Reflection, Advocacy & Leadership

Moral Agency

• Capacity to act habitually in a manner consistent with moral integrity 

moral distress

when cannot act on ethical values

moral outrage

anger from perceived violation of moral standard

Collaborative Responsibility

• Were in this together = collective ethics and team culture

• Ethics is not individual heroism = shared culture and responsibility 

• Ethical climate influences our decisions (ex. feeling negativity on the unit)

Nurses as Advocates for Justice and Change

Nurse = moral agent and advocate within systems

moral agent

entity with the capacity to distinguish right from wrong and is accountable for its actions

Forms of advocacy (4)

• Individual

• Interpersonal

• Organizational

• Structural 

Nurses in Policy and Advocacy 

• nurses = change agents

  • Shape policies that affect pt care, equity, health systems  

• Nurses witness firsthand effects of systemic gaps 

examples of nurses experience with systemic gaps

• Lack of indigenous pain protocols

• Digital surveillance (ex. Digital charting)

• Under-resourced communities

types of advocacy - explained 

• Individual = support pt right to informed consent (ex. HIV testing week 3)

• Organizational = advocating for inclusive workplace policies (ex. Student accomodation week 4)

• policy/systemic = pushing for changes in legislation or professional standards (lobbying for MAiD access guidelines or equitable tech regulation) 

CNA and advocacy

“Advocacy is a professional responsibility, not an options add-on”

advocacy for the pt

Support client autonomy by providing clear and accessible treatments, events so client can make informed decisions

5 steps to advocacy research

• 1. Define local problem of personal importance

• 2. Research existing solutions (locally and nationally)

• 3. Explore related issues

• 4. Propose a practical solution

• 5. Present their proposal to a real audience (ex. School board, community groups) 

Theory of Change

• Motivation = building buy-in and willingness, gaining new knowledge and skills to get people on board with making changes 

• Capacity = developing skills, knowledge, support structures = build capability of group to tackle the issue 

• Opportunity = creating an enabling environment to act, spaces and chances to implement ideas 

Social change package

• Six calls to action

• Action  areas

• Capacity worksheet

• Tacts and implementation toolkit

• Shareables = policy action brief, toolkit  

Social Change Package - worksheets

• Capacity worksheet - assess

• Implementation toolkit - plan

• Tactics resource lists - idea bank (act)

Assess

• Examine call to action

• Capacity worksheet for groups skill, relationships to relevant issue

Plan

• In the planning stage, info from assessment to decide on concrete action

• Implementation toolkit = planning worksheet

  • From setting objectives

  • Picking tactics that fit group

  • Assigning responsibilities

Act

• Group takes action according to plan

• Launching initiative, executing tactics, advocating for change

• Reflect and share outcomes after they have acted