Strategies for Integrating Cultural Values in Ethics Education for Nurses

BACKGROUND: Limited usage of cultural values has prevailed in ethics education, probably due to controversial issues of cultural relativism .There is, however, an urgent need to bridge the gap between education and practice to ensure cultural appropriate ethical nursing care.

METHODS: A literature review was done to identify transformative theory and strategies that may encourage students to recall, reflect and discuss self-identified morality.

RESULTS: The proposed approach draws on transformative learning theory of Mezirow, and introduces strategies for aligning values with ethical theories. The article suggests that instead of imposing moral theories on students, transformative learning strategies should be implemented to reframe students’ ingrained values and realise the assimilation of these values in moral theories.

CONCLUSION: Reframing and assimilation are necessary to bridge the gap between ethics education and practice in nursing. The strategies may enable intercultural dialogues that are deemed necessary for harmonious interaction among people with varied and dynamic cultural values and identities.