RESUMO
OBJECTIVE: The objective was to reflect on the nurse's role and on the determinants of a responsible choice. In order to do it, we tried to answer the following questions: (1) Are the role and the mission of the nursing body well acquired in Lebanon? (2) Are there international and national norms which govern the accomplishment of this mission? (3) At what point does the mission accomplished by the nursing body procure the patient's safety? (4) What are the factors that modify the performance of the nursing body in Lebanon? And, (5) What are the challenges of a good-quality nursing performance? METHODS: We conducted a double arm survey. The first one is made on 160 nurses working in 19 hospitals that succeeded to establish until July 2008 (end of study) at least an ethical committee for medical care. The second one was conducted on the heads of the nursing departments in 49 private institutes, 34 public institutes and 16 universities. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: The investigated nurses don't know very well the medical and nursing ethics' principles that are very well highlighted in the Husted decisional model and expressed by justice, autonomy, confidentiality, beneficience, veracity and fidelity. This result underlines a fact that affects the nurse's mission and so on the patients' safety. Ninety-four per cent of the nurses think that the education and the communication with the patient is not a priority during their daily work, which hinders the three essential times (analysis, communication and assessment) required to elaborate a freely informed decision. Ethics don't have a solid basis in education. CONCLUSION: We must be concerned by this diagnostic, but it leads to the hope of being able to find together, through a common reflection, the essential characteristics to assume our responsibilities whether in the medical or nursing domain.
