Ethics in nursing: Progress on national nursing ethics summit

Background: In 2014 a National Nursing Ethics Summit was undertaken to chart a future for nursing ethics in the United States.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to understand changes in the field over a 5-year period as a measure of longitudinal impact and identify recommendations for education, practice, research and scholarship, and policy.

Methods: This cross-sectional study used a mixed method design.

Findings: Nineteen participants from 15 institutions participated in the survey. The majority of respondents agreed or strongly agreed on their effort in promoting education (84%), contributing to scholarship (74%), creating a sustained environment for ethical practice (63%) and developing new initiatives (58%) in nursing ethics.

Discussion: Further investment is needed to establish a more broadly funded research agenda for ethical issues in nursing, improvement in evidence-based practice, and development of policy initiatives to promote ethical practice and infrastructure for sustainability and responsiveness to contemporary challenges.