Are nurse educators conducting ethical research with student nurses?
Nurse educators are engaged in planning and conducting research with pre-registration student nurses and with registered nurses who are undertaking post-registration studies. Additionally, many have conducted research with their students for higher degree or teaching certification course work. A review of recently published research indicates that nurse educators engaged in such research are as liable as any other group of health professionals to disregard the ethical rights of student participants. It is doubtful as to how much of this research has been subjected to formal ethical approval processes. The focus of this presentation arose from research being undertaken for PhD studies into the development of student nurses’ work related values. The presenter, positioned in just such a dual role, had to recognise ethical implications that could affect adversely the quality of research design.
