Ethics in nursing refers to the principles and professional standards that help nurses navigate decisions involving patient care, rights and well-being. From respecting patient autonomy to providing equitable care, nurses may encounter situations that require them to consider not only what they can do for a patient, but what they should do.

For Rebekah Swindler, a 2026 graduate of GCU’s RN to BSN program, exploring ethics as part of her nursing education encouraged her to think more deeply about her own beliefs, her Christian faith and her responsibility to provide unbiased care. Now working in critical care at a rural hospital, she draws on her nursing knowledge while caring for patients with complex needs.

Her journey to nursing began years before she entered the profession. Inspired in part by the healthcare professionals who cared for her husband during his experience with cancer, Swindler found a new direction in nursing and, eventually, a renewed sense of confidence and purpose.

Nurses care for patients with different backgrounds, beliefs, values and preferences. Ethics in nursing provides a framework for navigating these differences while upholding professional responsibilities and respecting the rights and dignity of each patient.

According to the American Nurses Association (ANA) Code of Ethics for Nurses, ethics in nursing care helps guide nurses in ethical decision-making and in fulfilling their responsibility to advocate for patients’ rights, health and safety.^{(See disclaimer 1)} Ethical considerations can arise when determining how to respect a patient's wishes, protect confidential information, promote well-being or respond when personal beliefs differ from the patients’.

Ethical nursing practice requires nurses to consider how their decisions and actions may affect patients, families and other members of the healthcare team. Developing an understanding of nursing ethics can help nurses approach complex situations thoughtfully while remaining focused on their professional responsibilities and the needs of those in their care.

Nurses often work closely with patients and families during vulnerable and complex moments. Their responsibilities may involve advocating for a patient's wishes, protecting privacy, communicating information and collaborating with other healthcare professionals about care decisions. Ethics can help nurses approach these responsibilities with respect for the individual while remaining accountable to professional standards.

Swindler sees the complexity of patient care firsthand in her work in a rural hospital's critical care unit. She cares for patients with serious needs, including those requiring respiratory support and cardiac drips, and some patients must wait to be transported to larger hospitals for additional care. For her, closely monitoring these patients and recognizing subtle changes in their conditions is an important part of her role.

Although she does not characterize these experiences as ethical dilemmas, critical care illustrates why nurses need a strong professional and ethical foundation. Nurses may encounter situations in which a patient's preferences differ from a family's wishes, personal beliefs conflict with a patient's choices or members of a healthcare team have different perspectives on care. Ethical principles provide a framework for considering these situations while keeping the patient's rights, needs and well-being at the center of care.

The Core Ethical Principles in Nursing

Several ethical practice principles help shape and provide a foundation for making patient care decisions. They include:^{(See disclaimer 2 )}

• Autonomy: Autonomy in nursing ethics refers to respecting a patient's right to make informed decisions about their own healthcare, including decisions a nurse may not personally agree with.
• Beneficence: Nurses should seek to promote the well-being of their patients and act in ways intended to benefit those in their care.
• Nonmaleficence: Often associated with avoiding harm, this principle calls on nurses to consider patient safety and the potential risks associated with care.
• Justice: Justice in nursing ethics centers on fairness and equitable treatment, including providing care without unfair discrimination or favoritism.
• Fidelity: Fidelity involves honoring professional responsibilities, commitments and the trust established between nurses and their patients.
• Veracity: Nurses should communicate truthfully and provide patients with accurate information within their professional responsibilities.

The ANA Code of Ethics for Nurses provides a professional framework for ethical nursing practice. Revised in 2025, the Code includes 10 provisions addressing nurses' ethical responsibilities and relationships with patients, other nurses, themselves, the nursing profession, society and the global community.^{(See disclaimer 1)}

The first three provisions of the Code focus specifically on the nurse-patient relationship. 

They address:

• Practicing with compassion
• Respect for each person's dignity
• Maintaining a primary commitment to those receiving nursing care
• Advocating for patients' rights, health and safety

Other provisions center around nurses' accountability for their own practice, responsibilities to themselves, the ethical work environment and responsibilities to the profession and broader society.

The code of ethics in nursing can help nurses consider their responsibilities when navigating complex situations, but developing an ethical nursing practice also involves examining how personal values intersect with professional obligations. This was an important part of Swindler's nursing education. She recalls a GCU course that addressed difficult ethical issues in healthcare while also challenging her to consider her Christian faith and how she could care for patients without allowing her own beliefs to create bias.

For Swindler, those conversations prompted an important question: What do I believe and how can I remain unbiased while also recognizing appropriate opportunities to share my faith?

Ethical decision-making can help nurses thoughtfully evaluate situations in which values, responsibilities or perspectives may conflict. Although there is no single approach nurses must use for every ethical issue, the ANA Code of Ethics provides guidance for considering professional obligations when making decisions about nursing practice.

Depending on the situation, nurses may need to:^{(See disclaimer 1)}

1. Identify the ethical concern.
2. Gather relevant information.
3. Consider the patient's wishes, rights and well-being.
4. Examine applicable professional standards.
5. Consider the perspectives of those involved.
6. Collaborate with other members of the healthcare team.

When appropriate, nurses can seek additional guidance through supervisors, ethics committees or other organizational resources.

An important part of this process is recognizing how a nurse's own experiences, values and beliefs may influence their perspective. Swindler's ethics coursework encouraged this type of reflection. By examining what she personally believed alongside her responsibility to provide unbiased care, she developed a deeper awareness of how personal convictions and professional responsibilities can intersect.

Ethical decision-making does not necessarily mean that every difficult situation has one clear solution. Instead, careful reflection, communication and an understanding of professional responsibilities can help nurses evaluate complex circumstances while keeping the patient at the center of care.

Ethical considerations can arise in everyday patient care as well as in complex clinical situations. Although the appropriate response depends on the circumstances, the following examples illustrate how ethical principles may influence nursing practice:

• Respecting a patient's treatment decision: A patient may decide against a recommended treatment after receiving information about its potential benefits and risks. Respect for autonomy means recognizing the patient's right to participate in decisions about their own care.
• Protecting patient confidentiality: Nurses have access to sensitive health information and have professional responsibilities to protect patient privacy. For example, a nurse should not disclose information about a patient's condition to someone who is not authorized to receive it.
• Providing equitable care: Nurses work with patients from different backgrounds and circumstances. Justice in nursing ethics calls for fair and equitable care while respecting the dignity of each individual.
• Navigating differences in personal beliefs: A patient's healthcare decisions or values may differ from a nurse's personal or religious beliefs. Ethical nursing practice requires nurses to recognize their professional responsibilities and respect the rights and dignity of those in their care.

Swindler reflected on this last responsibility during her nursing coursework at GCU. Studying challenging ethical issues encouraged her to examine her Christian beliefs while considering how she could remain unbiased when caring for others. Her experience offers an example of how studying nursing ethics can prompt reflection on professional responsibilities when caring for individuals whose perspectives may differ from your own.

Ethical nursing practice can develop through education, professional experience and ongoing reflection. As nurses encounter new patient populations, responsibilities and situations, they can continue building their ability to recognize ethical concerns and thoughtfully consider their professional obligations.

Nurses can strengthen ethical practice by staying familiar with professional standards, reflecting on their own values and potential biases and communicating openly with patients and healthcare colleagues. Continuing education can also expose nurses to different perspectives and emerging ethical considerations in healthcare. When particularly challenging situations arise, nurses may seek guidance from experienced colleagues, organizational policies or ethics resources.

For Swindler, continuing her nursing education contributed to growth that extended beyond her understanding of ethics. She entered her nursing education with low confidence in her academic abilities, but her experience earning her BSN helped change how she viewed herself and what she could contribute.

“I think it really helped boost my confidence in the fact that I do know things, that I am knowledgeable and I do have something to say,” Swindler said.

That growing confidence, paired with opportunities to examine challenging subjects such as healthcare ethics, became part of Swindler's continued development as a nurse and helped shape how she thinks about her future in the profession.

Today, Swindler works in the critical care unit of a rural hospital, where paying close attention to patients is an important part of her role. She finds meaning in recognizing subtle changes that may indicate whether a patient's condition is improving or declining.

Swindler hopes to eventually earn a master's degree and move into nursing education, where she could bring her professional experiences and perspective into the classroom. For now, however, she is giving herself time to consider what comes next.

Her outlook is particularly meaningful considering where her journey began. After her husband's cancer diagnosis altered the direction she had originally envisioned for her life, Swindler initially focused on supporting her family and meeting her children's needs. Years later, becoming a nurse and continuing her education helped her rediscover goals of her own.

For Swindler, earning her BSN at GCU provided an opportunity to deepen her nursing knowledge while examining how ethics and faith can intersect with professional practice. Her coursework challenged her to consider difficult healthcare issues, reflect on her own beliefs and think about what it means to care for patients whose perspectives may differ from her own.

Her personal circumstances also required a program that fit alongside significant responsibilities. While completing GCU's RN to BSN program online,^{(See disclaimer 3)} she was able to work full time while raising four children. She credits the online^{(See disclaimer 3)} format with helping her balance those responsibilities while continuing her education.

Swindler's journey demonstrates how nursing education can extend beyond developing clinical knowledge. It can provide opportunities to examine your professional responsibilities, strengthen your confidence and consider the kind of nurse you want to become.

If you are interested in continuing your nursing education while exploring how ethics, professional responsibilities and a Christian worldview can inform nursing practice, discover our nursing degree programs and find a pathway that aligns with your educational and professional goals.