Abstract:

The field of professional moral courage in the labor market is a particularly relevant topic, but at least in Lithuania, it is not being actively researched. On the other hand, international studies quite widely link the issue of professional moral courage to the communication of nurses and/or other medical staff on issues of loss and various traumas. According to J. A. White (2015), it should be noted that courage is not just a personal trait—it is shaped by the broader socio-political environment, and actions of moral courage have both positive and negative consequences at the personal level (including issues of personal risk or self-realization), at the organizational level (when legitimacy is strengthened or external attacks occur), and at the societal level (including social change or issues of civil resistance). As can be seen, the issue of professional moral courage is a significant process that can lead to various changes.

The aim of this presentation is to determine students' professional moral courage by establishing how future specialists are able to make ethically sound decisions, remain consistent with their values, and behave morally in complex professional situations. The Professional Moral Courage Scale (PMCS) was chosen as the research instrument—a validated and widely used scale that measures an individual's professional moral courage (L. E. Sekerka, R.P. Bagozzi, R. Charnigo, 2009). Since the selected scale (PMCS) measures professional moral courage as a personal trait rather than just actual behavior at work, the sample of respondents includes both working and non-working students. The research data was analyzed using the SPSS statistical package. The research data revealed the overall level of professional moral courage among the respondents, their tendencies in moral decision-making, and their level of professional moral responsibility.

Keywords:

Professional moral courage, students, higher education, organisations.