Georgetown University’s School of Nursing (SON) explored the key changes designed to support nurses and patients in the changing healthcare systems in the newly revised 2025 Code of Ethics for Nurses, marking the first update since 2015, at an April 8 lecture.

The 2025 update features an added tenth provision alongside significant updates to the original nine and changes to terminology, such as referring to the patient instead as “recipients” of care, prioritizing the patient above the institution. Jennifer Bartlett, associate dean and associate professor of nursing at Georgia Baptist College of Nursing of Mercer University, who co-chaired the revision, spoke about the key changes to these provisions.

Carol Taylor, a SON professor who helped lead the revision of Provision 2 and spoke at the event, said one such revision—adding the phrase “conflicts of commitment” to what was previously only “conflicts of interest”—was crucial in this provision because it addresses the centrality of patients.

“I love the fact that we addressed conflicts of commitment,” Taylor said at the event. “Because when we’re talking about our professional practice and that our commitment to patients should come first, when we do lack the attention and time to be who our patients need us to be, there’s a problem, and I think that invites reflection from all of us.

Bartlett said the updated Provision 5 emphasizes a holistic approach to nursing, encouraging nurses to bring their personal perspectives and values into their practice.

“We bring our entire selves into nursing for all the good and the bad that is, and this notion of wholeness of character that we need individual nurses, we need your perspectives, we need your diversity, we need your life experiences,” Bartlett said at the event. “That informs who we are as people and certainly should inform who we are as nurses.”

Provision 6 moves away from the idea of “good nurse vs. bad nurse,” and focuses more on the evolution of a nurse’s virtues and their environment. 

Lucia Wocial, senior clinical ethicist and assistant director of the Center for Ethics at MedStar Washington Hospital Center, who also spoke at the event, said the expectation of nurses in Provision 6 is not one of perfection, but one in which nurses strive to make the best ethical choices. 

“What I hope people will think about when they see Provision 6 is it does not expect us to be virtuous or perfect nurses,” Wocial said. “It does invite us to think about who I am, what is my identity as a nurse and how I take that and contribute in a very positive way to what we call a moral milieu, an environment that allows people to flourish and excel and be of their ethics best.”

The last four provisions focus on nurses in relation to society. The ninth provision, originally about nurses on a national and global level, was split into two. Provision 9 addresses national issues, while Provision 10 emphasizes global solidarity and the role of nurses in planetary health, justice and sustainable development. 

Wocial said it is important to look at the interconnectedness of each provision when looking at the code as a whole.

“One of the things that is so essential for you to appreciate is that no one provision stands alone,” Wocial said. “And it really does depend on us thinking deeply about the different parts.”

Sarah Vittone, a clinical ethics consultant and associate professor at Georgetown University, said the code captures Georgetown’s values. 

“Our Code of Ethics, with our ethical principles and Jesuit values, is embedded in our Georgetown curriculum,” Vittone wrote to The Hoya. “A nurse in practice can be confident that their colleagues have this same code to guide their everyday decisions in practice, their own wellbeing and continuing education as well as the crucial decisions and actions, educating and collaborating with others to ultimately help those in their care.”

Bartlett said the code is significant because it reflects a nurse’s identity and professional obligation.

“It is for nurses and it is by nurses,” Bartlett said. “It really is our chance to articulate who we are as a profession, how we roll and how we function in healthcare, what structures we require and what’s necessary and how we want to serve the populations we serve.”