Codes of Ethics for Nurses

This menu section is intended to provide information on codes of ethics for individual nations and the ICN. We hope to include URL links to codes, information on the history and development of particular codes and their interaction with the nursing ethics of the organizations that promulgate and maintain them. We offer them in their languages of origin and, where possible, in English or another language as well.

Para nuestros colegas de enfermería: nos gustaría incluir su código de ética de enfermería de su país; para ello, les rogamos que nos envíen por correo electrónico el enlace URL a la fuente original.

Argentina

  • Argentina is somewhat unique, as there is no single national code of ethics with legal authority governing all nurses across the country. Instead, ethical guidance is drawn from several sources. The main references are the Code of Ethics of the Pan American Federation of Nursing Professionals (FEPPEN), which has been widely adopted and disseminated by nursing organizations in Argentina, and the Code of Ethics of the International Council of Nurses (ICN). In addition, some provinces or professional nursing associations have developed their own complementary codes of ethics. From a regulatory perspective, the practice of nursing is governed by the Argentine Nursing Practice Act (Law 24.004), which establishes the legal framework for the profession, although it is not itself a code of ethics.
  • FEPPEN Code of Ethics
  • Declaración de Principios Éticos del CREM (Consejo Regional de Enfermería del Mercosur (CREM))
  • Argentine Nursing Practice Act (Law 24.004)

Australia

  • Effective 2018: “The Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA), Australian College of Midwives (ACM), Australian College of Nursing (ACN) and Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (ANMF) have agreed to jointly adopt the International Council of Nurses Code of ethics for nurses (ICN Ethics) and the International Confederation of Midwives Code of ethics for midwives (ICM Ethics) as the guiding documents for ethical decision-making for nurses and midwives in Australia.”

Belgium

  • “Contrary to other countries, where codes of ethics for nurses are formulated to support those standards and to guide nurses’ professional practice, Belgian nurses do not have a formal code of ethics.”
  • Verpeet, Ellen, Meulenbergs, Tom, Gastmans, Chris. “Professional values and norms for nurses in Belgium,” Nurs Ethics. 2003 Nov;10(6):654-65.

Canada.

Denmark

Faroe Islands

  • The Faroe Islands appear to have adopted the ICN Code of Ethics for Nurses as its own code.

Finland

Iceland

Ireland

Israel

  • Hakod Ha’eti shel ha’ahim veha’ahayot beyisrael [the ethical code of the nurses in Israel]
  • Yakov G, Halevi Hochwald I, Rashi T, Shachaf S, Sela Y, Halperin O. Nursing professions’ distinctive ethical standards: Exploring a code of ethics. Nurs Ethics. 2025 Jun;32(4):1210-1229. doi: 10.1177/09697330241277986. Epub 2024 Sep 25. PMID: 39322222. (Contains an English translation of the Code of Ethics)

Japan

Mexico

The Netherlands

Norway

Peru

Sweden

  • Sweden appears to have adopted the ICN Code of Ethics for Nurses as its own code.

Switzerland

United Kingdom

  • Nursing and Midwifery Council, The Code. This is a code of conduct, that details professional standards of practice and behaviour for nurses, midwives, and nursing associates. It is not a code of ethics, and extends beyond nurses per se, nonetheless it does embed some ethical concerns. The website also addresses conscientious objection and female genital mutilation (FGM). Both English Welsh language versions are downloadable for free.
  • Royal College of Nursing, RCNi: states that the four principle of bioethics (autonomy, beneficence, nonaleficence, justice) “are linked to the standards in the Nursing and Midwifery Council Code.”
  • Dunn H (2024) Ethical decision-making: exploring the four main principles in nursing. Nursing Standard. doi: 10.7748/ns.2024.e12346
  • Nursing and Midwifery Council, The Code. This is a code of conduct, that details professional standards of practice and behaviour for nurses, midwives, and nursing associates. It is not a code of ethics, and extends beyond nurses per se, nonetheless it does embed some ethical concerns. The website also addresses conscientious objection and female genital mutilation (FGM). Both English Welsh language versions are downloadable for free.
  • Royal College of Nursing, RCNi: states that the four principle of bioethics (autonomy, beneficence, nonaleficence, justice) “are linked to the standards in the Nursing and Midwifery Council Code.”
  • Dunn H (2024) Ethical decision-making: exploring the four main principles in nursing. Nursing Standard. doi: 10.7748/ns.2024.e12346

United States

  • ANA Code of Ethics (read only)
  • Download (provisions only)
  • Fowler, Marsha.   Nursing’s Ethics, 1893-1983:  the Ideal of Service, the Reality of History.  Los Angeles: University of Southern California. 1984. Doctoral dissertation (in Social Ethics) on the US Code of Ethics for nursing in its successive iterations, as the code is influenced by changes in society and in nursing practice across the decades. Includes chapters on the Nightingale Pledge, and each code revision from 1926 Suggested Code through 1976. Appendix includes the text the Nightingale Pledge and its revision and the text of each code revision (with permission). Another appendix includes a list of approximately 400 AJN articles 1900 to 1960s on ethics. 430 pages. Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses.

International Council of Nurses