Philosophical Perspectives on Trustworthiness and Open-mindedness as Professional
Virtues for the Practice of Nursing: Implications for the Moral Education of Nurses
Contents
Page
Title page 1
Abstract 2
Declaration and word count 3
Acknowledgements 4
Table of contents 5
Introduction 8
A note on nomenclature 11
A note on definitional difficulties for nursing 12
Structureandcontentofthesis 13
Chapter 1: Moral education, professional virtue and the
Practiceofnursing 16
The teaching of ethics to nurses 16
Moral guidance 20
The moral education of nurses 22
Professional ethics 25
Education for the practice of nursing 26
The nature of virtue 28
Harman’s challenge to virtue ethics 29
Professional virtues 32
Particular professional virtues 33
Trustworthiness 34
Open-mindedness 34
Education for professional virtue 35
Chapter 2: Human vulnerability 37
All people are vulnerable... 39
Risks of harm 44
...but some people are more vulnerable than others 46
Patients as vulnerable people 48
Clarke and Driever’s account of patient vulnerability 50
Patients as more-than-ordinarily vulnerable people 54
Nurses and protection of clients 55
Activities of abuse 56
Professional protection of more-than-ordinarily
vulnerable persons 57
Nurses are vulnerable too! 58
Nurses are exposed to particular occupational hazards 59
Nurses witness the more-than-ordinary vulnerability of
others on a daily basis 60
Nurses and human flourishing for patients 62