A reply to 'Scepticism about the virtue ethics approach to nursing ethics' by Stephen Holland: The relevance of virtue in nursing ethics

摘要

Stephen Holland (2010) raises several points against the value of virtue ethics in professional nursing. The heart of his argument is that the professional ethics of nursing is not an arena in which virtue ethics is useful. While he admits that virtue ethics is useful in personal life, the parameters of nursing as a distinct profession call for other normative theories. Action-related or rule-related ethical systems fit much more easily into the code of ethics used by the nursing profession. I find Holland's arguments to be specious and this paper will spell out my objections. Not only is virtue ethics useful for nurses, but it is a central theory for distinguishing the consistently effective nurse from his or her counterparts.