Articles Vol. 67 No. CĐ2-NCKH 05/03/2026

MORAL SENSITIVITY AND ASSOCIATED FACTORS AMONG NURSING SPECIALIST LEVEL-1 STUDENTS

Nguyen Hoang Long1,2, Nguyen Thi Minh Chinh3,4
1 VinUni University
2 Trường đại học VinUni
3 Nam Dinh University of Nursing
4 Trường Đại học Điều dưỡng Nam Định
DOI: 10.52163/yhc.v67iCD2.4464
19 Views
9 Downloads
Keywords
moral sensitivity, nursing, ethical competence.
Abstract

Objective: This study aimed to describe the moral sensitivity level and associated factors among Specialist Level I (CKI) nursing students.

Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted on 317 CKI nursing students at Nam Dinh University of Nursing in the 2022–2023 academic year. Data were collected using the Byrd’s Nurses Ethical Sensitivity Test with 10 clinical scenarios. An online survey was administered, and data were analyzed using descriptive and comparative statistics.

Results: The mean moral sensitivity score was 21.91 ± 3.69 (scale 10–30). Of the participants, 65.6% were at the moderate level, 24.9% at the high level, and 9.5% at the low level. No significant differences in moral sensitivity were found by gender, type of undergraduate program, work position, workplace, age, or years of experience.

Conclusion: CKI nursing students demonstrated mainly moderate moral sensitivity. These findings highlight the need to strengthen ethics education in postgraduate nursing programs, with special attention to those at low sensitivity levels.

References
[1]
Lechasseur K, Caux C, Dollé S, Legault A. Ethical competence: An integrative review. Nurs Ethics. 2018;25(6):694-706. Google Scholar
[2]
Byrd LM. Development of an instrument to identify the virtues of expert nursing practice: Byrd’s Nurses Ethical Sensitivity Test (Byrd’s NEST) [dissertation]. Hattiesburg: University of Southern Mississippi; 2006. Google Scholar
[3]
Weaver K. Ethical sensitivity: State of knowledge and needs for further research. Nurs Ethics. 2007;14(2):141-55. Google Scholar
[4]
Kim YS, Park JW, You MA, Seo YS, Han SS. Sensitivity to ethical issues confronted by Korean hospital staff nurses. Nurs Ethics. 2005;12(6):595-605. Google Scholar
[5]
Chen XL, Huang FF, Zhang J, Li J, Ye BY, Chen YX, et al. Tertiary hospital nurses’ ethical sensitivity and its influencing factors: A cross-sectional study. Nurs Ethics. 2022;29(1):104-13. Google Scholar
[6]
Basar Z, Cilingir D. Evaluating ethical sensitivity in surgical intensive care nurses. Nurs Ethics. 2019;26(7-8):2384-97. Google Scholar
[7]
Bilgiç Ş. Does the compassion level of nursing students affect their ethical sensitivity? Nurse Educ Today. 2022;109:105228. Google Scholar
[8]
Sedghi N, Zoka A, Mohsenpour M. Moral sensitivity and moral distress correlation in nurses caring of patients with spinal cord injury. Clin Ethics. 2022;17(1):51-6. Google Scholar
[9]
Lützén K, Dahlqvist V, Eriksson S, Norberg A. Developing the concept of moral sensitivity in health care practice. Nurs Ethics. 2006;13(2):187-96. Google Scholar