Title : Organizational ethical climate and its influence on nurse professional outcomes.
Abstract:
Introduction: Recruitment and retention shortages in the nursing workforce have become a global issue facing health systems. In developing countries, an increasing number of experienced nurses and even new graduates intend to leave the profession or leave their home countries to seek better opportunities abroad, which amplifies the unequal distribution of health professionals between developed and underdeveloped nations. Healthcare structures are faced with the challenge of recognizing performance variables associated with their human resources and utilizing them proactively to create work environments conducive to preserving their working staff, as well as improving the quality of care provided. The concept of ethical climate has been gaining traction in the nursing literature, with increasing evidence showcasing its association with various nurse and patient outcomes.
Objective: in this presentation a summary of the literature surrounding the concept of ethical climate will be exhibited in addition to its association with nurse outcomes with special focus on turn over and intention to leave. Furthermore, this presentation intends to highlight the role of educators and leaders in guiding and helping students, new graduates, and exercising professionals to recognize how the ethical climate of their work shapes their practice and career choices.
This presentation intends to demonstrate how organizational ethical climate can be a significant indicator within health care structures and can be a useful for the reduction of turnover intentions and identifying negative aspects of work environments that might hinder ethical practice.
The evidence surrounding the following associations with Ethical climate will be discussed: civility, citizenship behavior, trust, job satisfaction, work engagement, absenteeism, ethical behavior, moral distress, burnout, with large focus on turnover intention. Additionally, its association with patient outcomes such as mortality, medical errors, and overall patient satisfaction.
Conclusion: Ethical leadership and management play an important role in creating an ethical working environment that contributes to increasing job satisfaction and in turn, lower the intention to leave. It is through creating positive ethical climates utilizing positive ethical leadership and the promotion of healthy communication and teamwork that we can improve professional and patient outcomes consistently and durably.
Audience Take Away Notes:
Benefits of this presentation for leaders and managers, educators and researchers include:
o Delineating the Number of articles published, and the strength of evidence, methodology and measurement tools used in addition to geographical distribution of the research on the topic and directive for future research
o The importance of considering ethical climate as a performance measurement that not only is important for ethical practice but can also indicate the risk for high turnover of health professionals
o The role of leadership in creating ethical climates conducive to preserving the nursing capital
o Understanding how the association between different actors in health care structures contribute to creating an ethical climate that shapes professional outcomes for health professionals and patients
o The role of education and continued education to accompany nursing students’, new graduates and working nurses in navigating the work climate and recognizing how it influences their career choices
