Nursing Ethics‚ Part 1: The History of Bioethics in the United States

Marge Hegge, EdD, MS, MEd, RN, FAAN, is a distinguished professor emeritus of nursing at South Dakota State University. Hegge studied at the Kennedy Bioethics Center at Georgetown University and has designed and taught doctoral-level ethics courses. She served eight years on the ANA Ethics Advisory Board, the last four as chair. Most recently, she served as chair of the Steering Committee to revise the ANA Code of Ethics. She serves on several boards, including the Good Samaritan Society, a nationwide long-term care organization. Disclosure: Marge J Hegge, EdD, MS, MEd, RN, FAAN has declared that no conflict of interest, Relevant Financial Relationship or Relevant Non-Financial Relationship exists.

Carol Taylor, PhD, RN, FAAN is a senior clinical scholar in the Kennedy Institute of Ethics at Georgetown University and a Professor of Medicine and Nursing. Experienced in caring for patients who are chronically and critically ill and their families, Carol chose doctoral work in philosophy with a concentration in bioethics because of a passion to “make health care work” for those who need it. At Georgetown, Carol was a founding member and previous director of the Pellegrino Center for Clinical Bioethics. Her research interests include clinical and professional ethics and organizational integrity. 

Carol has a PhD in Philosophy with a concentration in bioethics from Georgetown University and a Master's Degree in Medical-Surgical Nursing from Catholic University; She now works closely with health care professionals and leaders who are exploring the ethical dimensions of their practice.  She lectures internationally and writes on various issues in healthcare ethics and serves as an ethics consultant to systems and professional organizations.  She has served as an ethics consultant to Hospice of the Valley, the largest not-for-profit hospice in the U.S., for over ten years and served on the Bon Secours Health System Corporate Board and Ethics Advisory Board. She was also on the Board of Directors for the American Society of Bioethics and Humanities. She is a co-author of Wolters Kluwer’s Fundamentals of Nursing: The Art and Science of Person-Centered Nursing Care, which is now in its 9th edition, and co-editor of Health and Human Flourishing:  Religion, Medicine and Moral Anthropology and the 4th edition of Case Studies in Nursing Ethics.

Disclosure: Carol Taylor, PhD, MSN, RN, FAAN has declared that no conflict of interest, Relevant Financial Relationship or Relevant Non-Financial Relationship exists.