My view on the ethical aspect of nurses conducting research changed slightly after watching the movie “Miss Ever’s Boys” and completing the CITI program courses and reading a few articles. It changed slightly because I didn’t fully understand all the criteria and guidelines that you had to follow and go by when conducting research. The movie and articles also brought up situations that opened my eyes to the obstacles and barriers that nurses sometimes have to go through to get the research started and sometimes those barriers are within themselves. In the movie the men were giving blood to test if they had syphilis and then some got placebo treatment and some received the actual treatment. They knew that penicillin could help the men especially when a man was having trouble walking and using his legs but due to the guidelines, they were following the man was not allowed to receive a penicillin shot. I noticed that this was hard for the nurse because she knew it could help him but at that point in time there wasn’t much, she could do. I know if I was that nurse, and I knew of something that could help a patient but wasn’t allowed to give it to them I would be in an ethical dilemma because I know I should follow the rules however the patient’s safety and wellbeing is at the top of my list as well.
It is important for nurses to know the historical revolution and principles of research ethics because it has come a long way and the history of it is how we got where we are today. All the research in the past is how we can provide the care we do for patients and have the knowledge that we do to better care for them. The principles also help guide our research and are put in place to take into consideration all variables of research. After completing all the assignments and reflecting I believe that now I have more knowledge about research ethics and would be able to participate in research. Prior to this course and these assignments, I didn’t know much about research ethics but what I have taken away from this course and assignments definitely increased my capacity to participate in the ethical conduct of research, quality improvement, and evidence-based practice initiatives.
