COMPAS moral competence in nursing

Project summary

Improving moral development by teaching to avoid self-contradiction. A teaching intervention with follow-up on moral mobility.

 

 

Background

 

Moral decision making plays a key role in the nursing profession as also in other health and social sciences. The professional carer do not only reason and take stands with consequence for themselves. Most of all will their ability to identify ethical issues and reflect on ethical relevant differences have an impact on their patients, in whom they inflict their decisions.

Still, the gap on the better method to increase students’ skills in making decisions in the clinic needs to be filled.

Aim

Investigate the impact teaching to avoid self-contradiction have on moral development, to assess the moral stages of health and social science students over their study period and possible implications of the teaching method.

Methods

 

Population and ethics

Students in the first year of any bachelor program at the Faculty of Health and Social Sciences such as nursing, physiotherapy or occupational therapy attending cross-professional teaching over three years. A smaller sample will be included in a qualitative study.

Three sub-projects are planned:

1. Cross-sectional study of all students in all three years
2. Follow-up of the students starting study in 2019
3. Group interview of a smaller sample

Distribution of surveys will be using the Survey Xact 8.2, using canvas as distribution channel. Data handling approved by the Norwegian center for research data with reference number-720811.

Assessment tools

The Moral Development Scale for Professionals is a 12-item scale where each item is rated on a 5-point Likert scale from “not agree at all” to 5 for “agree completely”. A middle point of three correspond to “neither disagree nor agree”. Compas ethical reflection contains 13 questions constructed to contain possible contradictions.