Nursing Ethics

Feminist thinking offers a way to strengthen nursing ethics. The contributors to this volume examine and push back on established ethical frameworks, and they also propose new concepts, methods and ways of understanding moral life in care. A recurring concern is how power shapes moral relationships at the personal, organisational, cultural and political levels.

The opening chapters trace feminist approaches within nursing ethics from the late nineteenth century to the present. They look at how gender roles and gendered assumptions affect the moral experiences of nurses, patients and their families. The authors also argue that feminist perspectives could broaden nursing and midwifery practice so that social, economic, cultural and political factors become part of everyday ethical decisions in healthcare.

The later chapters apply these insights to the professional lives of nurses and midwives. Topics include leadership, healthcare organisations and research, as well as specific areas of care such as home care and abortion care.