TY  - JOUR
T1  - Ethics Rounds in Prehospital Care: Findings From a Qualitative Evaluation
A1  - Jing Liu
A1  - Hao Chen
JF  - Asian Journal of Ethics in Health and Medicine
JO  - Asian J Ethics Health Med
SN  - 3108-5059
Y1  - 2023
VL  - 3
IS  - 1
DO  - 10.51847/Hh4Aer6qUy
SP  - 229
EP  - 238
N2  - 
Ambulance clinicians frequently face ethical challenges when caring for patients with impaired decision-making capacity, requiring them to assess the patient’s ability to make decisions while balancing ethical principles. The development of ethical competence appears to be increasingly crucial for clinicians to navigate these complex dilemmas effectively. Ethics rounds are a structured approach aimed at fostering ethical competence among healthcare professionals. Although commonly implemented in other healthcare settings, to our knowledge, they have not previously been applied in the ambulance service. Therefore, this study aimed to explore and describe the experiences of ambulance clinicians participating in ethics rounds. A qualitative descriptive approach was used to assess the intervention. Sixteen ambulance clinicians who participated in ethics rounds were interviewed to collect data, which was subsequently examined through content analysis.

Participants’ experiences were captured in two main themes: (1) Feeling free to reflect within a structured setting, and (2) Being surprised by unexpected insights. These themes were built on the following categories: 1a) Gentle facilitation by the discussion leader, 1b) A clear and understandable framework, 2a) Gaining fresh awareness when facing ethical challenges, and 2b) Learning together through open dialogue. Regular, structured ethics rounds appear to foster ongoing growth in ethical competence, which could enhance the quality of patient care within ambulance services. The combination of clear guidance and facilitated group reflection provides ambulance clinicians valuable opportunities for both personal and professional growth. A key requirement for building ethical competence is a well-trained facilitator. Therefore, this model of ethics rounds can be regarded as an effective educational approach for developing ethical competence in prehospital care.

UR  - https://smerpub.com/article/ethics-rounds-in-prehospital-care-findings-from-a-qualitative-evaluation-rnfj53vqkdsbvuu
ER  -