Ethics has been an integral part of nursing since the early beginnings of our profession. The first nursing code of ethics, A Code for Professional Nurses, was formally adopted by the American Nurses Association (ANA) in 1950. Much has changed in the health care environment since then, but the responsibility of nurses to act in an ethical manner has not.

This 2015 edition is a revision of the 2001 Code of Ethics for Nurses With Interpretive Statements. The purpose of this update was to review and incorporate any changes in health care and clinical practice. A steering committee was convened for the revision, representing various nursing roles, practice settings, and geographical areas across the United States. ANA has been working on this update for 4 years, starting with an online public survey leading to the first revision, which was then posted for public comment. All of these comments were...

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