Raffin Bouchal, ShelleyOberle, KathleenEstefan, AndrewPoules, Roy Jeffrey2015-05-042015-06-222015-05-042015http://hdl.handle.net/11023/2231Nurses who work in critical care face a unique array of ethical decisions in the course of their practice. This study aimed to examine the source of the ethical decision making of individual nurses using a virtue ethics framework as a starting point. The design used a philosophical hermeneutic approach based on the writing of Paul Ricoeur to provide an interpretation of the ethical decision making process of nurses. Six nurses currently practicing in intensive care were interviewed, with the transcripts of the interviews used as texts which were analyzed using the concepts of distanciation and appropriation taken from Ricoeur. The results revealed the main themes of time, experience, and communication, which were related to self-identity as the basis of ethical decision makingengUniversity of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission.NursingEthicsIntensive CareRicoeurmoral couragemaster thesis10.11575/PRISM/28704