The Use of Faculty-Student Teams to Strengthen the Ethics Content in a DNP Program

Nurse practitioners are confronted with ethical dilemmas. Being able to identify these situations is essential to effective resolutions. Ethics content was introduced by a faculty-student team with subsequent survey regarding the usefulness of ethical frameworks in resolving dilemmas. One year later students were asked by another faculty-student team to define and identify ethically challenging situations they encountered. Those in clinical were better able to identify ethically challenging situations. Didactic portion only students do not seem to have the necessary skills to identify ethical dilemmas. Identifying the appropriate place to introduce and discuss ethical dilemmas is paramount for developing effective DNP curriculums