The moral foundation of nursing.

The authors argue that the moral predicament facing nurses is their not being free to be moral because they are deprived of the free exercise of moral agency. Two occurrences are needed for nurses to be free to be moral: (1) the emergence of a strong sense of professional autonomy for nurses and (2) a shift in the locus of accountability from other health care professionals to the patient. The direction urged is to view nursing ethics as reform ethics.