ETHCOM Strenghtening of ethical competence in future nurses and midwives: an interprofessional action-learning project on experiental training methods

ETHCOM aims to strengthen the ethical competence of future nurses and midwifes by means of experiential interprofessional learning methods. This project is based on a solid and unique transnational and co-creative action learning approach, in which eight interdisciplinary action learning teams faciliitated by trained teachers/tutors will develop, test and evaluate experiential learning methods in different clinical contexts.
Healthcare is a very demanding working environment that is characterized by organizational changes, technological development and scarcity of resources. Shortages of staff and time, lack of respect and effective cooperation in interprofessional teamwork, disempowering organizational structures, … increase nurses' and midwives' risk to develop moral distress. Strengthening ethical competence in healthcare workers is crucial to avoid that moral stress evolves to moral distress. COVID-19 e.g., shows dramatically the fragility and complexity of the current European healthcare context leading to major moral distress in healthcare workers. In 2016, the WHO identified “ethical and legal principles and professionalism” as one of the key nurse educator core competences. Nevertheless, good practices to improve ethical competence integrated in curricula of Nursing and Midwifery Programs are lacking. Future proof learning methods should encompass the complex clinical reality and need to deal with: 1) professional contexts, 2) increasing diversity, and 3) deep-level learning.

AIM AND OBJECTIVES
1) Adapting education to the needs experienced in the working field regarding ethical competence.
2) Development and enrollment of experiential interprofessional training methods to enhance the ethical competence of nursing and midwifery students.
3)“Impact” and user-evaluation of the developed and enrolled experiential interprofessional training methods from the perspective of students, teachers, professional healthcare and the education program managers.