Territory: Nursing. Object: The role of the nurse. Concepts: Informed Consent, Paternalism, Autonomy Change: The role of the nurse over time. Thinkers: Kant, Mill, O’Neill, Foucault, Gadamer. Questions I am going to Consider: Does the paternalistic role doctors and other medical professionals used to take have any ethical basis? Is the more recent move towards advocacy and partnership more ethical? Should informed consent be compulsory in every situation? Which is more important: autonomy or welfare? Sources: Mill, J.S., On Liberty, 1903, London: Longmans, Green and Co.; Gadamer, H-G., Truth and Method, 1975, London: Continuum; Gillon, R., Philosophical Medical Ethics, 1985, Chichester: Wiley; Fairbairn, G. and S. (ed.), Ethical Issues in Caring, 1988, Aldershot: Gower Publishing Company Ltd.