Abstract
Ethics and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion are nursing concepts in the American Association of Colleges of Nursing Essentials for professional nursing education (AACN, 2021). Faculty desired the opportunity to guide prelicensure students in developing a deeper understanding of global healthcare ethics issues.
The American Nurses Association Code of Ethics directs nurses to practice with compassion for every person and promote health by incorporating social justice in nursing practice (ANA, 2015). Ethical analysis in nursing is linked to patient care quality and individual moral agency (Barlow et al., 2018). When exploring global healthcare issues, providing ethical frameworks to guide student reflections and analysis may benefit contemporary learning (Papastavrou et al., 2024).
Faculty instructing the Applied Healthcare Ethics course developed a learning module and activity focused on the application of ethical principles and analysis in healthcare environments outside the United States.
The asynchronous learning module contained several video interviews with American healthcare providers practicing in countries outside the United States. Interviews included discussion of healthcare ethics issues (social justice, resource allocation, social determinants of health, and ethical analysis of care for local populations).
Students completed reflection papers after viewing the video interviews. Question prompts explored a topic from the interviews that gave a moment of pause, a moment that made the student appreciate a new perspective, or made the student want to know more about the topic. Students also reflected on how they evaluate and approach ethical dilemmas in global health contexts. A second question required students to search for a global ethics academic journal article, summarize the ethical issue, and analyze the central ethical principle at stake.
Student reflections from the learning activity included a deeper awareness of global healthcare ethics and application of the knowledge to their future clinical practice. Students verbalized pausing to understand health disparities and resource allocation gaps in global health. Students reported a desire to advocate for global health equity as they prepared to enter nursing practice.
By discussing and applying ethical analysis of global healthcare issues students are better able to understand, advocate for, and appreciate the importance of ethics in nursing (Doherty, 2021).
Notes
Reference list included in attached slide deck.
Sigma Membership
Alpha
Type
Presentation
Format Type
Text-based Document
Study Design/Type
Other
Research Approach
Other
Keywords:
Ethics, Diversity Equity and Inclusion, DEI/BIPOC, Teaching and Learning Strategies, Nursing Education, Advances in Education, International Collaborations
Recommended Citation
Hodges, Kimberly, "International Ethics Collaborative: Exploring Global Healthcare Ethics with Prelicensure Students" (2025). Biennial Convention (CONV). 87.
https://www.sigmarepository.org/convention/2025/presentations_2025/87
Conference Name
48th Biennial Convention
Conference Host
Sigma Theta Tau International
Conference Location
Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
Conference Year
2025
Rights Holder
All rights reserved by the author(s) and/or publisher(s) listed in this item record unless relinquished in whole or part by a rights notation or a Creative Commons License present in this item record. All permission requests should be directed accordingly and not to the Sigma Repository. All submitting authors or publishers have affirmed that when using material in their work where they do not own copyright, they have obtained permission of the copyright holder prior to submission and the rights holder has been acknowledged as necessary.
Review Type
Abstract Review Only: Reviewed by Event Host
Acquisition
Proxy-submission
Date of Issue
2025-11-26
International Ethics Collaborative: Exploring Global Healthcare Ethics with Prelicensure Students
Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
Ethics and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion are nursing concepts in the American Association of Colleges of Nursing Essentials for professional nursing education (AACN, 2021). Faculty desired the opportunity to guide prelicensure students in developing a deeper understanding of global healthcare ethics issues.
The American Nurses Association Code of Ethics directs nurses to practice with compassion for every person and promote health by incorporating social justice in nursing practice (ANA, 2015). Ethical analysis in nursing is linked to patient care quality and individual moral agency (Barlow et al., 2018). When exploring global healthcare issues, providing ethical frameworks to guide student reflections and analysis may benefit contemporary learning (Papastavrou et al., 2024).
Faculty instructing the Applied Healthcare Ethics course developed a learning module and activity focused on the application of ethical principles and analysis in healthcare environments outside the United States.
The asynchronous learning module contained several video interviews with American healthcare providers practicing in countries outside the United States. Interviews included discussion of healthcare ethics issues (social justice, resource allocation, social determinants of health, and ethical analysis of care for local populations).
Students completed reflection papers after viewing the video interviews. Question prompts explored a topic from the interviews that gave a moment of pause, a moment that made the student appreciate a new perspective, or made the student want to know more about the topic. Students also reflected on how they evaluate and approach ethical dilemmas in global health contexts. A second question required students to search for a global ethics academic journal article, summarize the ethical issue, and analyze the central ethical principle at stake.
Student reflections from the learning activity included a deeper awareness of global healthcare ethics and application of the knowledge to their future clinical practice. Students verbalized pausing to understand health disparities and resource allocation gaps in global health. Students reported a desire to advocate for global health equity as they prepared to enter nursing practice.
By discussing and applying ethical analysis of global healthcare issues students are better able to understand, advocate for, and appreciate the importance of ethics in nursing (Doherty, 2021).
Description
Ethics and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion are nursing concepts included in the American Association Colleges of Nursing Essentials for professional nursing education. Attendees in this session will gain understanding of a learning activity guiding nursing students to explore healthcare ethics issues in global environments.