DIGITAL ETHICS AMONG THE NURSING STUDENTS IN CLINICAL EDUCATION: A QUALITATIVE STUDY
The 25th International Nursing Ethics Conference - The Value of Nursing Ethics Research and Scholarship , Turku, Finland, 28 - 29 August 2025, pp.37, (Summary Text)
- Publication Type: Conference Paper / Summary Text
- City: Turku
- Country: Finland
- Page Numbers: pp.37
- Yozgat Bozok University Affiliated: Yes
Abstract
DIGITAL ETHICS AMONG THE NURSING STUDENTS IN CLINICAL EDUCATION: A
QUALITATIVE STUDY
Background: Digital ethics refers to guiding ethical principles and rules of behavior in the digital world.
Digital ethics for nursing students includes the responsibility to protect patient privacy and share
accurate and reliable health information. Preventing ethical violations in the digital environment is vital
to ensure patient safety and professional reliability.
Aim: The aim of this study was to identify nursing students' perceptions of the ethical implications,
challenges, while using digital tools during their clinical education.
Methods: Transnational qualitative study design was performed on 2024-2025 by involving three
countries, namely Italy, Poland and Türkiye. A purposeful sample of students have been involved
reaching a total of 55 participants up to data saturation. Data was collected through semi-structured
face-to-face interviews with students and were analyzed by following the thematic analysis. The
Institutional Review Board ethics committee approval was obtained. Moreover, the ‘Consolidated
Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Research’ was used to report this study.
Findings: Most of the participants were female and the mean age was less than 25 years. Digital ethics
have been experienced by students as a multi-faced phenomenon, with several violations, as enacted
by themselves, after having witnessed other mature students and nurses. Since they are part of the
care team, most of them think they have rights. Sharing photos, data, clinical records and audios, as
recorded with the mobile phone, was mostly reported. Underlying reasons for such violations were the
need to fit with the university expectation to prepare work assignment of clinical data, examinations
and other tasks.
Conclusions: Digital violations are experienced by nursing students suggesting that more education
is needed to increase awareness. Moreover, awareness among nurses is also required given that they
play a model role. Additionally, adjustments to clinical procedures and regulations on digital ethics in
informed consent may be useful to prevent digital ethical violations and protect students.