Ethical competence in a profession: Healthcare professionals' views.

One main theme and four subthemes emerged. The main theme was as follows: safeguarding the vulnerability of the other. The subthemes were as follows: using sensitivity to establish a trustful relationship, acting in an objective and flexible manner, using a reflective process in decision-making, and maintaining confidentiality and honesty. Future research should focus on investigating ethical competence from various perspectives in student health care, for example the student perspective or observational studies.