|
Read
about the job
of a nurse researcher. A three-part series from the San Francisco Chronicle
on human subjects in clinical trials: Part
One: The rules: Fragmented regulations may
leave some volunteers unprotected. Part
Two: Rules for clinical trials are confusing,
inconsistent. Part
Three: The reality: What every participant
in a medical research study should know. Overview of Chapter 4:
Understanding the Ethics of Nursing
Research The purpose of Chapter 4 is
to familiarize you with the basic principles
involved in the protection of the rights of humans
in research. Humans are the study participants in
most nursing studies. It is important to understand
the need to conduct such research ethically. It is
also important to understand, however, that the
need to adhere to ethical guidelines sometimes
conflicts with the basic aim of conducting rigorous
research. Therefore, we will devote attention to
various ethical dilemmas in which competing demands
on the researcher (and on the nurse) must be
balanced. An important concept in this regard is
the risk/benefit ratio. Because many nurse
researchers study vulnerable groups, we all need to
develop special sensitivity in evaluating the
ethical aspects of studies involving vulnerable
subjects. Study
Chapter Four in the
text, pages 71-91. If
you're of the opinion that human subject abuse
could never happen today, think again. Read:
"Shutdown
puts human research under
microscope." Use the forum
for Questions for Instructor on Part 1 in
WebCT for Nurs
400A
or Nurs
400B
to post questions about things you don't understand
in Chapter 4. |