Which term describes the category of ethics used by nurses and other health care providers to resolve ethical dilemmas, including subfields such as health-care ethics, bioethics, legal ethics, and business ethics?

Which term describes the category of ethics used by nurses and other health care providers to resolve ethical dilemmas, including subfields such as health-care ethics, bioethics, legal ethics, and business ethics?

• A. Meta Ethics
• B. Epistemology
• C. Applied Ethics
• D. Descriptive Ethics

Answer: (C)

Applied ethics focuses on taking moral theories and principles and applying them to real-world problems in professional settings. In nursing and health care, this means guiding how to resolve dilemmas such as patient autonomy, confidentiality, informed consent, and resource allocation, with subfields like health-care ethics, bioethics, legal ethics, and business ethics illustrating how ethical reasoning is specialized to different contexts. This practical, decision-oriented focus distinguishes it from meta-ethics (which asks about the nature of moral language and meaning), epistemology (the study of knowledge), and descriptive ethics (which surveys what people believe about morality).

Applied ethics focuses on taking moral theories and principles and applying them to real-world problems in professional settings. In nursing and health care, this means guiding how to resolve dilemmas such as patient autonomy, confidentiality, informed consent, and resource allocation, with subfields like health-care ethics, bioethics, legal ethics, and business ethics illustrating how ethical reasoning is specialized to different contexts. This practical, decision-oriented focus distinguishes it from meta-ethics (which asks about the nature of moral language and meaning), epistemology (the study of knowledge), and descriptive ethics (which surveys what people believe about morality).