Current Ethical Issues and Future Challenges in Psychiatric Nursing

The purpose of this study was to shed light on present ethical issues in Japanese psychiatric nursing and establish clearly what measures, educational programs, and guidelines are needed in order to improve the care and treatment of patients with mental disorders. Twenty Psychiatric Certified Nurse Specialists (CNSs) were interviewed on ethical issues. This study reports the results of this pilot test. The survey was conducted from October to December of 2012. After approval from the Kumamoto University Research Ethical Committee, objectives, methods, and guarantees of privacy were explained to the subjects and, with their agreement, interviews were conducted.