Ethics reflection groups for school nurses.

Abstract

School nurses have great responsibilities as the connecting link between school, children/adolescents, parents, and other healthcare services. Being in this middle position, and handling complex situations and problems related to children in school, may be demanding and also lead to ethical challenges. Clinical ethics support, such as ethics reflection groups, may be of help when dealing with ethical challenges. However, there is little research on experiences with ethics reflection groups among school nurses. The aim of this research was to explore how nurses in school healthcare experience their role, and how they experience participation in ethics reflection groups, using a model for systematic ethics reflection, the Centre for Medical Ethics model. The project had a qualitative design, using focus group interviews and thematic analysis. The study was evaluated by the Data Protection Official at the Norwegian Centre for Research Data (project no. 57373). The participants were given oral and written information about the study and signed a written consent. Twelve participants from school healthcare were recruited to the interviews. School nurses described their role as extremely challenging. How the school nurses experienced their role also influenced how they experienced participating in ethics reflection groups. The Centre for Medical Ethics model was experienced as both challenging and comprehensive. However, they also experienced that the model helped them to clarify their role and could also help them to find better solutions. The role as school nurse is complex and demanding, with several ethical challenges. Ethics reflection groups may be of great help when dealing with these challenges. However, it is of great importance that the methods used are adjusted to the professionals' needs and context.