The Relationship between Ethical Awareness in Nursing Profession and Moral Sensitivity in Nursing Students of Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Iran

Awareness of ethical principles and having moral sensitivity are considered as the pillars of quality nursing care of patients. This study aimed to investigate the level of moral awareness and sensitivity of nursing students of Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran.

This descriptive-analytical study was performed on 134 nursing students of Hamadan University of Medical Sciences using stratified sampling method with proportional allocation. Data collection tools included a three-part questionnaire of demographic information form, and questionnaires of ethics awareness in the nursing profession, and moral sensitivity. Data were analyzed using parametric t-test and analysis of variance (ANOVA) or non-parametric Mann-Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis tests in SPSS software.

The majority of students had a moderate level of awareness (64.2%) and moral sensitivity (81.3%). The level of moral awareness in terms of semester variables and interest in the field and the level of moral sensitivity in terms of age, degree, and semester variables had significant differences (P < 0.05). The findings indicated that there was no statistically significant correlation between moral awareness and moral sensitivity in students.

Considering the average level of moral awareness and sensitivity of students and the lack of significant correlation between these two variables, it is possible to improve and promote ethical issues in nursing by trying to design models to implement nursing ethics in the clinic and the inclusion of more professional ethics topics in specialized nursing textbooks during education.