ABSTRACT
The aim of this chapter is to provide a brief overview of a number of major ethical theories that the nurse will find useful when ethically reasoning. These theories relate to duties, outcomes, principles and character. There is also a section on how these theories work together as a pragmatic approach to ethics. Plant and Narayan asamy (2014) highlight that nursing ethics has a long history. Its roots can be traced back to the 1870s; since that time nursing has been influenced by a number of major ethical theories, which are discussed in detail in this chapter. Over time nursing has moved into being a distinct profession with its own code of conduct. These ethical theories have underpinned the development of this code (ibid.). Ethical theories can be divided into normative and nonnormative theories.
