NCT07193238

Application of an Ashridge Training Model-Based Ethics and Moral Course in Newly Graduated Nurses

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 120 (actual)
• Sponsor: Eye & ENT Hospital of Fudan University · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: —
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

The objective of this historical control trial is to evaluate the effectiveness of an Ethics and Moral Course, based on the Ashridge training model, in newly graduated nurses. The primary questions it aims to address are: (1) What is the impact of integrating moral education into the standardized training of newly employed nurses on their professional outlook? (2) Can this study enhance the humanistic care abilities and overall competencies of newly graduated nurses? Researchers compared two groups of newly employed nurses (without work experience) at a specific hospital. The control group received conventional training, while the intervention group underwent a moral education curriculum designed in three stages based on the Ashridge training model, in addition to traditional training. Post-training, the two groups were compared in terms of their sense of professional mission, perceived professional benefits, humanistic care abilities, theoretical knowledge, and practical skills performance.

Detailed description

With the continuous development of the healthcare sector, nursing personnel face increasingly higher professional demands. Newly graduated nurses, lacking work experience, are particularly prone to ethical dilemmas during their transition from nursing students to clinical practitioners. Ophthalmology and otolaryngology diseases often affect patients' sensory functions and quality of life, imposing higher competency requirements on Eye, Ear, Nose, and Throat (EENT) nurses. Standardized training, as a crucial transitional period for new nurses, presents an optimal opportunity to integrate ethical education, thereby fostering their professional outlook and moral qualities. This study underscores the importance of structured ethical and moral education during this critical transition period. The investigators first developed an ethics and morality curriculum tailored for new EENT nurses based on the Ashridge training model, followed by a non-randomized controlled trial to evaluate its effectiveness. Newly employed nurses (new graduates without work experience) at a tertiary specialized hospital in Shanghai were selected as study subjects. Sixty new nurses employed between January 2022 and December 2022 served as the control group and received conventional training. Between January 2023 and December 2023, sixty newly employed nurses served as the intervention group, receiving an ethics and morality curriculum designed in three phases based on the Ashridge training model, in addition to conventional training. A mixed-methods research design was adopted. The investigators surveyed the sense of professional mission, professional benefit perception, humanistic care ability, theoretical knowledge, practical skills, and scenario-based case simulation performance in both groups post-training. The qualitative component used purposive sampling to conduct semi-structured interviews with 18 new nurses. Thematic framework analysis was employed to extract viewpoints, categorize reasoning, and summarize themes. The results indicated that the intervention group outperformed the control group across all measured parameters (P \< 0.05). The results highlight the effectiveness of our course in enhancing the professional identity, ethical decision-making, and humanistic care abilities of newly graduated nurses. Our qualitative interviews further complemented the quantitative findings, providing valuable insights for the development of ethical and moral education courses for new nurses.

Conditions

• Professional Sense of Mission
• Professional Benefit Perception
• Humanistic Care Ability
• Theoretical Knowledge and Practical Skills Performance
• New Graduated Nurses
• The Ethics and Moral Course

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
OTHER	The Ethics and Moral Course based on the Ashridge training model	Based on the three-stage characteristics of the Ashridge training model, the developed the content of this ethics course. (1) Discrete stage (within 3 months of employment): This stage aims to initially cultivate the professional identity of new nurses, stimulating humanistic awareness. It primarily involves self-study, supplemented by instructor supervision and implicit positive guidance. (2) Integrated stage (4-6 months of employment): This stage combines professional identity with actual work, enhancing humanistic care abilities in practice. It emphasizes mutual sharing between instructors and new nurses, utilizing diverse training methods to promote experience and reflection. (3) Cumulative stage (7-12 months of employment): This stage develops critical thinking and ethical problem-solving abilities. It focuses on assessing comprehensive abilities in complex nursing situations, providing feedback on the teaching plan, and evaluating training effectiveness.

Timeline

• Start date: 2022-01-01
• Primary completion: 2023-12-31
• Completion: 2023-12-31
• First posted: 2025-09-25
• Last updated: 2025-09-25

Locations

1 site across 1 country: China