As you go through your two (or four) years of nursing school, you’ll most likely find a bioethics or medical ethics class on your course list. Rapidly becoming a requirement for both nursing schools and students alike, this is the time in which you’ll learn about the rights and responsibilities of being a nurse as it relates to general human morality.

What is the Difference Between Bioethics and Medical Ethics?

In the medical community, bioethics is the study of how biological research (and the applications of that research) has an impact on human beings. This field asks questions like:

• When is it acceptable to use human test subjects in a medical study?
• How much culpability do medical professionals have on the outcome of a patient’s treatment?
• Are procedures like in-vitro fertilization and gene studies hurting or helping our society?

The list can go on, but the overall takeaway is this: where does the line between research and human rights lie?

Medical ethics, on the other hand, has more to do with how medical professionals treat each patient who crosses their path. Moral issues like racial and sexual equality in care giving, human rights in end-of-life care, and personal freedoms in a nursing home setting all play a role.

Which Course Will I Take in Nursing School?

Depending on your nursing school and the program you’re in, you may take one or both of these courses (and some schools will combine them into one). And the reasons why these courses are required make sense: nursing is an inherently compassionate field.

Although there is a strong scientific component to everything you do, the nurse is essentially the bridge between the doctors and the families. This means that in addition to providing care and dispensing medicine, you are an advocate for fair treatment and, oftentimes, the person closest to the patient and his or her family in the medical community.

This training is also required in order for you to be licensed and insured as a nursing professional. Almost all nurses have some sort of malpractice insurance (either independently or through your employer) to protect against lawsuits. Having an ethics course means that you understand your rights and responsibilities as a member of the health care team, and you will be better equipped to deal with situations in which morality comes into play.

Related Topics:

Modern Day Ethics Issues in Nursing

Working With Patient Families

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