An evaluation of adherence to ethical codes among nurses and nursing students

Ethical codes are instructions that shape ethical behavior and determine which values and beliefs should be accepted. These codes act as a practical guideline in the nursing profession. The present study aimed to compare adherence to ethical codes between the nursing students and working nurses of Valiasr Hospital, affiliated with Fasa University of Medical Sciences in Fars Province, Iran. In this descriptive-analytical study, the data collection tool was nurses’ self-reporting questionnaire on adherence to ethical codes devised by Mahdavi Lenji and Ghaedi Heidari, who have also confirmed its validity and reliability. This questionnaire consisted of 3 sections: personal information, ethical codes related to clinical service provision (23 items), and relationship with the treatment team (8 items). A total of 400 individuals (178 nursing students and 222 nurses) were selected through census sampling method. Data were analyzed through descriptive, ANOVA and t-test statistical methods using SPSS 22 software. There was no significant difference between nurses and nursing students in terms of adherence to ethical codes related to clinical service provision, but the latter achieved a significantly higher score in codes on relationship with the treatment team (P = 0.04). Although the score of nursing students was higher than nurses in comparison to the treatment team, they lacked the necessary technical competency to adhere to ethical codes. Therefore, we recommend that nursing instructors and educational managers pay more attention to teaching nursing ethics and supervise their implementation and practicality in clinical environments.