A comparison of the moral intelligence of nurses in civilian and military hospitals

Nowadays، ethics is an important factor that can determine the clinical competency of nurses. The aim of this study was to compare the moral intelligence of nurses in civilian and military hospitals. In this descriptive-comparative study، 315 nurses from hospitals in Tehran and Kerman were recruited by convenience sampling. Lennick & Kiel’s Moral Competency Inventory was used for data collection. The data were analyzed by SPSS software version 17 using descriptive and inferential statistical tests including T- test، ANOVA and Chi-square test. 149 study subjects were military nurses and the remaining 166 were civilians. The nurses’ moral intelligence was found to be at an average level. On the other hand، there was a statistically significant difference between the moral intelligence level of civilian and military nurses (P < 0. 001). The results showed that the moral intelligence of most nurses in this study was at an average level. It is therefore recommended that health managers pay more attention to this issue and incorporate it into the required courses for their employees especially during service training. Moreover، offering extensive training courses on ethical issues is a solution that should be considered in military hospitals.