This book follows two lines of inquiry in understanding nursing ethics in the historical-cultural context of modern China. Firstly, it scrutinizes the prescribed set of moral virtues for nurses in fulfilling their role requirements during different periods of nursing development over the past century. Based on empirical studies, the book, secondly, explores the nurses’ evaluations of their ethical responsibilities in current practice. It carefully examines the particular viewpoints of nurses in their ethical appraisal of nursing practice and patient care situations. Drawing upon traditional ethical outlooks, international norms, and the experiences of nurses as they face difficult care situations, this book concludes with recommendations for improving the quality of nursing in contemporary China.

This dissertation, "From Virtue to Value: Nursing Ethics in Modern China" by Mei-che, Pang, 彭美慈, was obtained from The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong) and is being sold pursuant to Creative Commons: Attribution 3.0 Hong Kong License. The content of this dissertation has not been altered in any way. We have altered the formatting in order to facilitate the ease of printing and reading of the dissertation. All rights not granted by the above license are retained by the author. Abstract: Abstract ''From virtue to value'' characterises the two main lines of inquiry of this thesis in making sense of nursing ethics in modern China. The first line of inquiry examined the prescribed set of moral virtues that were required of nurses over the past century. The second line of inquiry was an empirical venture focusing on the nurses'' evaluations of their ethical responsibilities in current practice. The particular viewpoints that nurses brought to their appraisal of the patient care situations where ethical practice was in question were examined. Three essential virtues have been identified, not only in academic writing or official documents, but also in the opinions of nurses themselves. They are a sense of socialist responsibility, excellence in practice and sincerity in relating to patients. These virtues have their roots in traditional Chinese medical ethics but expressed within the ideological framework of ''socialist humanism'', in which Mao''s mandate ''rescue the dying and heal the wounded, serve the people wholeheartedly'' is promulgated as the fundamental principle. Embedded in this mandate is an advocacy of respect for life that demands a positive duty on the part of health-care workers to protect life and treat patients with altruistic motives. Over the past ten years, education and management measures have been instituted to foster these virtues in nurses. In reviewing contemporary issues in the health care system, population policies and euthanasia movement, I argue that another set of values based on the notion of ''quality of life'' is promulgated by the Party leadership, which directly poses challenges to the adequacy of the mandate in informing practice. The empirical findings do not support a transition from virtue to value. Instead, it discloses a tension between the valuing of traditional virtues and the valuing of the virtues of the market economy. The three pairs of contrasted rankings emerged fromthe pattern of nurses'' rankings of their multiple role responsibilities suggest that nurses in China inevitably experience moral dilemmas that emerge from three sources of conflicting values in practice situations that hold them from taking virtues seriously. They are typified in difficult care situations regarding information disclosure, withdrawal of treatment, requests for euthanasia, unmet needs of a demanding patient, and unmet needs of a silent patient. The first source derives from the emergent values that emphasise treating the patient as an individual and quality of care, but encounter the constraints posed by the value of protectiveness, which is predominant in the existing system of medical care. The second source emerges from the role requirement of having a sense of socialist responsibility in practice, but meeting with the constraints of the medical system, which is operated under the mechanism of market economy. The third source comes from nurses'' emergent sense of professional care, meeting with traditional care values that emphasise family responsibility and institutional policies that require nurses to conform to rules and regulations. Drawing upon traditional ethical outlooks, international norms, and the actual experiences of nurses as they face ethically difficult situations, the thesis concludes with recommendations for improving the quality of nursing in contemporary China. DOI: 10.5353/th_b2981295 Subjects: Nursing ethics - China Medical policy - Chin

(Uncorrected OCR) Abstract 'From virtue to value' characterises the two main lines of inquiry of this thesis in making sense of nursing ethics in modern China. The first line of inquiry examined the prescribed set of moral virtues that were required of nurses over the past century. The second line of inquiry was an empirical venture focusing on the nurses' evaluations of their ethical responsibilities in current practice. The particular viewpoints that nurses brought to their appraisal of the patient care situations where ethical practice was in question were examined. Three essential virtues have been identified, not only in academic writing or official documents, but also in the opinions of nurses themselves. They are a sense of socialist responsibility, excellence in practice and sincerity in relating to patients. These virtues have their roots in traditional Chinese medical ethics but expressed within the ideological framework of 'socialist humanism', in which Mao's mandate 'rescue the dying and heal the wounded, serve the people wholeheartedly' is promulgated as the fundamental principle. Embedded in this mandate is an advocacy of respect for life that demands a positive duty on the part of health-care workers to protect life and treat patients with altruistic motives. Over the past ten years, education and management measures have been instituted to foster these virtues in nurses. In reviewing contemporary issues in the health care system, population policies and euthanasia movement, I argue that another set of values based on the notion of 'quality of life' is promulgated by the Party leadership, which directly poses challenges to the adequacy of the mandate in informing practice. The empirical findings do not support a transition from virtue to value. Instead, it discloses a tension between the valuing of traditional virtues and the valuing of the virtues of the market economy. The three pairs of contrasted rankings emerged from the pattern of nurses' rankin.

The ethics of Chinese physicians were formulated during the Confucian era and advocated the interests of the general public. Medical resources in China were distributed to shamans (up to this century), Buddhist monks, Taoist hermits, Confucian scholars, itinerant and established physicians, laymen, midwives, and many others. Conflict over distribution of those resources affected everyone. Independently practicing physicians acquired more and more control. Ethical debates were used to centralize resources among physicians. Prognosis has become increasingly significant as a means of protection and reputation. A formulated ethics from the elite group of physicians must not only subject itself to the values dominating society but create values in the advanced medical regions; e.g., allocation of resources to preserve life.

Nursing History Review, an annual peer-reviewed publication of the American Association for the History of Nursing, is a showcase for the most significant current research on nursing history. Regular sections include scholarly articles, over a dozen book reviews of the best publications on nursing and health care history that have appeared in the past year, and a section abstracting new doctoral dissertations on nursing history. Historians, researchers, and individuals fascinated with the rich field of nursing will find this an important resource. Highlights from Volume 13: Revisiting the Johns Report (1925) on African American Nurses, Judith Young Nursing Education Moves into the University: The Story of the Hadassah School of Nursing in Jerusalem, 1918-1985, Nina Bartal and Judith Steiner-Freud American Nurse-Midwifery: A Hyphenated Profession with a Conflicted Identity, Katy Dawley Critical Issues in the Use of Biographic Methods in Nursing History, Sonya J Grypma Dead or Alive: HIPAAís Impact on Nursing Historical Research, Brigid Lusk and Susan Sacharski

Drawing on a wide range of primary historical and sociological sources and employing sharp philosophical analysis, this book investigates medical ethics from a Chinese-Western comparative perspective. In doing so, it offers a fascinating exploration of both cultural differences and commonalities exhibited by China and the West in medicine and medical ethics. The book carefully examines a number of key bioethical issues in the Chinese socio-cultural context including: attitudes toward foetuses; disclosure of information by medical professionals; informed consent; professional medical ethics; health promotion; feminist bioethics; and human rights. It not only provides insights into Chinese perspectives, but also sheds light on the appropriate methods for comparative cultural and ethical studies. Through his pioneering study, Jing-Bao Nie has put forward a theory of "trans-cultural bioethics," an ethical paradigm which upholds the primacy of morality whilst resisting cultural stereotypes, and appreciating the internal plurality, richness, dynamism and openness of medical ethics in any culture. Medical Ethics in China will be of particular interest to students and academics in the fields of Medical Law, Bioethics, Medical Ethics, Cross-Cultural Ethics as well as Chinese/Asian Studies and Comparative Cross-Cultural Studies.

This title is directed primarily towards health care professionals outside of the United States. This book aims to fill a gap with an in-depth exploration of nursing ethics content from the western philosophical tradition and some of the methods used in teaching this content. It addresses cross-cultural issues in using specific ethics content. It also reveals the poverty of the present dualism model in nursing ethics and replace this with a more complex and more useful model that invites debate. Its scope is both wide and deep but that is needed to enrich the basis for teaching nursing ethics. Outlines and critiques all current ethical theories and considers their application to nursing practice Explores ethical issues in numerous cultures Includes case studies drawn from a range of countries Written by leading nurse educators and philosophers in the field