Ethical Considerations for EBP

After completing all the ethical assignments for class, my understanding and viewpoint of how nurses contribute to the ethical conduct of research and implementation of research findings has only become stronger. In the movie we watched, “Miss Evers’ Boys”, the medical professionals knew that a cure had been found for Syphilis, yet they withheld this from the volunteers to examine how the disease progressed. This position by the medical professionals was an extreme case of ethical misconduct, and patient deaths even resulted from this lack of ethical reasoning. This research experiment was highly unethical because it caused physical and emotional harm to patients and families. It is a nurse’s duty in this type of situation to speak out against any research being done like nurse Evers did. If research experiments are not conducted ethically, then they are causing more harm than good.

            Being knowledgeable about the Tuskegee Experiment as a nurse is critical because it helps prevent further unethical treatment like this in the future. Nurses today can learn from the consequences of this experiment to prevent unethical research findings. The Tuskegee experiment was investigated, and compensation is now provided to families of the participants. This example helps prevent future unethical experiments from even occurring in the first place. 

My achievement of the course objectives has contributed to my ability to participate in ethical research because I will know when an experiment or project is unethical. Evidence-based practice research also needs to meet the ethical principles and standards, which I have learned through this course.