Professional nursing values include altruism , autonomy , integrity , social justice, and human dignity . Ethics play many roles in nursing practice from the underpinning that nursing values give to the profession to the Code of Ethics for Nurses with which nurses govern themselves.

Ethical concepts such as a belief in autonomy, justice, and veracity should be threaded through all decisions nurses make and the care they offer their patients. Values are the core convictions that underlie beliefs and behaviors.

ethical consideration — an issue that causes a nurse to stop to think through the ethics of a situation. ethics — a branch of philosophy and a set of moral principles, virtues, or ideals that guide behavior and help determine what is right and wrong. integrity — being honest and morally constant, supporting what is right even when not popular, and meeting commitments. autonomy — an individual’s ability to make decisions and determine courses of actions based on being well informed, giving consent, and volunteering without coercion.