Relationship between moral courage of nurses and their participation in clinical decision-making

Clinical decision-making is an essential part of the nursing profession. The nursing profession is based on ethical principles. Due to their commitment to patients, morally courageous nurses ignore occupational risks threatening their own lives.  The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between moral courage of nurses and their participation in clinical decision-making.

This descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted in 2019. The study population was nurses working in the CCU and ICU of Shahid Rajaie Cardiovascular Medical and Research Center. The sample size was 195 people. The data was collected using the Sekerka’s Moral Courage Scale, and the Participation in Decision Activities Questionnaire (PDAQ). Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics, independent t-test and Pearson correlation coefficient through the SPSS software version 19.

The mean scores of moral courage and PDAQ in nurses were 90.38 ± 11.48 and 117.24±39.42, respectively. A positive correlation was found between moral courage and participation in clinical decision-makings (r=0.397, P<0.001).

The results showed that moral courage has pride of place in the nursing profession that can encourage nurses to actively participate in clinical decision making. Therefore, professional ethics courses are suggested to be organized to improve decision-making and clinical ethical performance of nursing students and nurses.