Moral agency in nursing: seeing value in the work and believing that I make a difference

Abstract

The subject of this article is moral agency in nursing, studied by the use of an applied philosophical method. It draws upon nurses' accounts of how they see intrinsic value in their work and believe that they make a difference to patients in terms that leave their patients feeling better. The analysis is based on the philosophy of Iris Murdoch to reveal how nurses' accounts demonstrated that they hold a view of themselves and their professional practice that is intrinsically linked to, and dependent upon, their capacity to see good in the work they do.