ABSTRACT
Nursing has roots in both religious orders and military structures, organisations that are not traditionally associated with freedom of speech. Despite raising the educational level of nursing in recent decades, nurses continue to work within a medical and nursing hierarchy where freedom of speech may also not be a foremost consideration.
However, freedom of speech is important at several levels such as the need to have open and appreciative debate about nursing issues at an academic level, the ability to speak out in clinical practice—whistleblowing—when poor care appears to be institutionalised and even in rapidly developing clinical situations where patient safety may be compromised.
This chapter will initially examine freedom of speech as a philosophy underpinning academic debate. I will then explore some current issues where the exercise of freedom of speech has been curtailed by social media mobbing and even by termination of employment. The limits of freedom of speech will be explored, and some current measures and movement intended to preserve it. Finally, ways of ensuring the inculcation of freedom of speech with nursing students will be discussed.
