Education in Nursing Ethics

Abstract

In the United States, in 1915, the National League for Nursing Education (later the National League for Nursing) established curricular requirements that included specific requirements for ethics curriculum. These requirements were mandated for nursing education in all American nursing schools. While there was a specific section of the curriculum devoted entirely to ethics (an "ethics course"), ethics was also mandated to be taught throughout the curriculum. The heaviest emphasis, outside the ethics course, is found in the "Social and Professional Subjects" section, and the section titled "History (including Ethical and Social Principles)." These ethics requirements for 1915–1919 are examined for their specific philosophical and social influences, their emphases, and their rigorous and comprehensive nature.