Moral experiences are experiences where there are values at stake. All people live moral experiences, from the mundane to the extraordinary. Undergraduate nursing students (UNS) have moral experiences during their clinical placements yet little is known about these experiences. Research that acknowledges and accounts for the range of moral experiences that UNSs have when providing patient care better reflects the diversity of these experiences, from the good to the bad, the right to the wrong, and the just to the unjust. Understanding their moral experiences can foster a greater awareness of UNSs as moral beings who live meaningful experiences that affect them as learners and future professionals. The purpose of this research study was to examine clinical placement-related moral experiences of UNSs and the ways in which these moral experiences shape them as learners. The research questions were 1) What are the moral experiences of undergraduate nursing students in the context of clinical placements?; 2) What are the relational dimensions of undergraduate nursing students' moral experiences in the context of clinical placements?; and 3) How do undergraduate nursing students incorporate their moral experiences into their learning process? This study is a constructivist grounded theory as articulated by Charmaz. Twenty-three semi-structured interviews with UNS participants were conducted and retained for analysis. All participants were recruited from the Bachelor of Science in Nursing program at a bilingual university in Ontario, Canada. In keeping with constructivist grounded theory, the data analysis process was iterative and evolving to construct a theory that was grounded in the data. As a result of data analysis, three categories were developed: 1) having a moral experience; 2) learning in motion; and 3) navigating relational contexts. In brief, the first category, having a moral experience, represents the moral experiences described by the participants; these are the stories participants shared that unfolded during or in relation to clinical placements. The second category, learning in motion, describes the participants' learning process. The third category, navigating relational contexts, represents the interconnected relationships that framed the participants' moral experiences. Overall, the findings of this study provide insights into the range of moral experiences that UNSs have during their clinical placements, the relational dimensions at play, and the learning process that UNSs experience as they navigate clinical placements as learners.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:uottawa.ca/oai:ruor.uottawa.ca:10393/45539 |
| Date | 12 October 2023 |
| Creators | Marcogliese, Emily |
| Contributors | Vandyk, Amanda, Jacob, Jean Daniel |
| Publisher | Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa |
| Source Sets | Université d’Ottawa |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | application/pdf |
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