Virtue ethics in health care teams; its time has come: Review of the nursing virtue ethics literature

Abstract

Aim: To summarize and evaluate the nursing virtue ethics literature, examine how virtue ethics has been applied to health care teams, offer a new framework to guide understanding and development of virtuous health care teams and offer recommendations to nurse leaders.

Background: With the unprecedented levels of incivility and turnover in the post-COVID-19 world, virtue ethics may provide an innovative approach for nursing leaders working to rebuild healthy practice environments.

Evaluation: An integrative review yielded articles from eight databases using PRISMA guidelines. Level of evidence and quality were assessed using the Johns Hopkins tools.

Key issues: Virtue ethics has been of interest to the health care community predominantly as a concept. Most articles focused on debating whether virtue ethics belongs in nursing. Virtue ethics offers a creative strategy for leaders to attract and retain nurses.

Conclusion: There is a dearth of research on virtue ethics and nursing. One study empirically uncovered and validated a framework for virtue ethics in health care teams.

Implications for nursing management: To rebuild strong health care teams, nurse leaders can model virtue ethics using an empirically derived framework while coaching their teams to do the same. Doing so holds the promise of reengaging staff and rebuilding healthy practice environments.

Keywords: conceptual framework; nurse managers; nurses; nursing leadership; research; teamwork.