Leadership: Directions for sustaining ethical practice

Internationally, nurses serve a broad spectrum of the community through the provision of healthcare. The nursing profession is generally trusted by this community. Trust is achieved through ethical nursing practice. Recently, in 2021, the ICN published the revised edition of the Code of Ethics for Nurses. The ICN Code of Ethics for Nurses is a ‘statement of the ethical values, responsibilities and professional standards of nurses’. It guides nurses to acknowledge the vulnerability of the people that we serve. It emphasizes the fundamental importance of being aware, and appropriately responding to ethical issues and concerns is commensurate with professional practice.