This qualitative study, conducted through interviews, examines aspects of conscientious objection among nurses. The study presented in the Journal of Advanced Nursing begins to decipher the importance for nurses, in an increasingly complex clinical practice environment, including ethically and highlights the need to ensure the nurses' freedom of conscience as well as that of all health professionals.
These one-on-one interviews with 8 Ontario nurses reveal that nurses who conscientiously object to ethically relevant policies lack concrete support and need “protection” in their healthcare settings. Thus, more and more frequent are the clinical situations in which nurses find themselves faced with problems of conscience or in disagreement with ethics or “its regulations”. The Canadian study thus underlines that for Canadian nurses, the national legalization of euthanasia, known as “Medical Assistance in Dying” has recently considerably exacerbated this need for support.
The need to ensure respect for the freedom of conscience of nurses and all health professionals finally emerges from these interviews, which highlight the different situations in which conflicts of conscience emerge. The conclusion is obvious, it is about the need, also, of clauses relating to the freedom of conscience, "to the support of health care". “ Professionals need to be able to practice with clear boundaries in supportive work environments where their conscientious objections are respected in an inclusive manner ,” concludes lead author Dr. Christina Lamb.
“ Conversations about conscientious dilemmas and conscientious objection must also be able to find their place in team meetings because ethics is part of the practice. And respect for the person's right to conscience must be respected as a prerequisite for these ethical conversations ”.
