| What are the ethical issues or situations Air Force Nurse Practitioners (AFNPs) experience in clinical practice? Which moral or ethical principles are reflected? Little has been written about the ethical issues faced by AFNPs in clinical practice. The description and exploration of these issues was accomplished in this study through the use of qualitative research methodology. Seven active duty AFNPs provided narrative accounts of ethical issues and situations encountered in their clinical practice. The individual narratives were analyzed and findings were presented using four basic principles of biomedical ethics: respect for autonomy, nonmaleficence, beneficence, and justice. Implications of this study illustrate the need for some type of ethics education in advanced practice nursing curricula. Further implications for use in clinical practice include time management, resource utilization, template creation, and training. More research is needed to determine if the experiences of AFNPs are universal to the profession of advanced practice nursing. Patient and healthcare provider satisfaction, and retention of personnel in military service may all be impacted by further research in ethical issues in clinical practice. |
