History

The mission of Ethics of Caring® is the promotion of ethical dialogue and ethics education for nurses and others in health care. From the start, we valued the bringing together of nurses from multiple healthcare facilities. This encouraged exploration of ethical issues beyond the culture of individual institutions, stimulating the cross fertilization of ideas. The conferences have fostered examination and discussion, supporting those at the frontlines of care as they encountered complex dilemmas.

The organization was founded in 1993, and has held an annual conference since 1994, growing to the National Nursing Ethics Conference (NNEC) in 2011.

Originally, with the collaboration and commitment of seventeen healthcare institutions in Los Angeles and Orange County, the symposium was able to provide attendees with exposure to national leaders, clinicians, researchers, and educators in ethics. Members of the Ethics of Caring® who were leaders in nursing and ethics from Los Angeles area healthcare facilities engaged in ethical discourse and peer review and represented nursing on ethics committees and meetings throughout the community.

The founding happened when Beverly Fairbairn, RN, CCRN, a nurse on the Ethics Committee at Saint John’s Hospital, proposed the development of a nursing ethics educational program to Katherine Brown-Saltzman, RN, MA, who at the time was the chair of the UCLA Nursing Ethics Committee. Thus began a mutual effort of gathering the network of nursing leaders interested in ethics and broadened immediately into the organization of a community-wide educational effort about nursing ethics. Other founding members were Elissa Brown, RN, MSN, PMHCNS-BC, Linda Gorman, RN, MN, PMHCNS-BC, CHPN, and Marilyn Shirk, MN, RN, CNS-BC.

In 2005, with the continued growth of the Ethics of Caring®, the consortium incorporated and became a non-profit organization.

Why Ethics of Caring?

An ethic of care has always been core to the philosophy of this conference. Not only is caring foundational to nursing, but it also frames how nurses view the ethical issues they face. We knew that education was essential in building skills to give voice to their concerns and to develop ethical agency, but we also understood that they needed an environment in which they could process the moral conflicts that they faced. The conference creates a supportive milieu, where the arts, beauty, healthful food, and a slower pace allow for an honoring and healing of the profound work that they do. We believe that nurses need to be fostered and inspired in their commitment to ethics and we built this conference with that intention.

The Process of Growth

After thirty years and tremendous dedication of those committed to nursing and ethics, the National Nursing Ethics Conference (NNEC) serves nurses from all over the country. The NNEC Planning Committee is well represented by nursing ethics leaders, faculty, researchers, and importantly clinical nurses with their fingers on the pulse of clinical ethics. 

• As the awareness of the pandemic unfolded, the 2020 conference that was to be held in-person in March in Los Angeles had to be evaluated through an ethical lens. Early on our concern was that assembling nurses, who would clearly be needed in the hospitals if the epidemic unfolded in unprecedented ways, would be at risk from contagion both in travel and in gathering. In late February, it was a tough decision to make a call to cancel the conference, but indeed the right one.  The planning moved quickly to reinvent ourselves as a virtual conference and we discovered that even virtually nurses received not only education, but also support during those difficult years.  We continued to meet the needs, despite the obstacles.
• The addition of poster presentations in 2015 widened the voice for those exploring ethical concerns and furthering an awareness of key issues. It provides summaries of the work being done across the country and an opportunity to meet the authors.
• Recognizing those championing ethics.

The Ethics of Caring National Nursing Ethics Leadership Award has been bestowed since 2017 as a way of recognizing leaders whose practice has been exemplary and paved the way for nurses to deepen their knowledge of ethics, to be prepared to engage in ethical dialogue, to provide mentorship and role modeling, and to inspire the next generation of nurse ethics leaders. An ethic of care is foundational in a nurses’ practice and this award acknowledges the privilege and obligation of caring as well as integrating care through an ethical lens, whether with patients, their families, colleagues, and communities.

This award not only confers a tribute to the individual, it also commits to documenting a history of nursing ethics. As the award is presented, the recipient is interviewed and nurses gain intimate insights into their passion, their journey, the missteps, and the expertise gained as these leaders found their way through the challenging ethical questions encountered and their powerful responses.

In 2024, the inaugural ANA DAISY Awards for Ethics in Nursing Practice and Leadership will be presented at the National Nursing Ethics Conference. A further collaboration of recognizing nurses who stand up for ethics in practice and leadership to demonstrate the importance of human values and ethics in nursing.

NNEC Scholarships

The need for financial support for attendees became apparent as time went by. Dr. Ann Hamric, a nursing ethics leader, steadfast proponent of NNEC and first recipient of the Ethics of Caring National Nursing Ethics Leadership Award, established the original scholarship, one for nurses in graduate school who had an interest in ethics. Upon her death, her family honored her memory with funding to sustain the continuation of that scholarship. We continue to offer the Ann Hamric Scholarship annually. 

That inspired others to donate and support scholarships. Please see the scholarship page for a full listing of scholarships available.

We are also grateful to the Hospice and Palliative Nursing Foundation for the continued support in providing both registration and travel funds to palliative and hospice nurses.

Speaker Spotlights

In 2021, when many nurses were struggling with the pandemic, and having limited time and energy for education, we introduced the Speaker Spotlight.  These interviews of upcoming NNEC speakers provided succinct discussions of current ethical concerns, insightful approaches, and a glimpse into the speakers’ own experience, as well as what had inspired and lifted them.  We discovered these previews of the conference were appreciated.  They were being shared amongst many nurses who were not able to join us and yet were influenced by the excerpts that they found informative.   Even from afar it was motivating nurses to explore and learn more about ethics. 

Where are we headed now?

The Next Generation

As we watched an aging of the nursing ethics leaders, we set a goal of reaching out to inspire the next generation of nurses to become engaged in ethics. Diversity another area at times neglected in the field increased our awareness of the need to be inclusive and build both racial, ethnic, and gender diversity with both our speakers and our committee. 

Funding

Given that our focus is ethics, we are limited from whom we receive financial support, to health care and educational institutions and individuals with a commitment to ethics. We are one of the only conferences that depends solely upon volunteers, with the exception of a part-time conference planner and web manager. As a non-profit, we are committed to keeping costs sustainable and registration fees as low as possible. We have partnered with institutions that value ethics and nursing. 

Accessibility

For those who are unable to travel, we hope in the future to make the conference accessible through online programs. This includes some of the lectures from the conference itself, but also the Speaker Series which addresses topics in depth through virtual discussion of films and current issues.  

• Mentorship
• Nurses need mentorship and access to resources in this field. Through a network of nursing ethics leaders, we hope to make those matches possible.
• Partnering with Professional Organizations and Nursing Leaders

Given the importance of ethics in nursing we are hoping to partner with nursing organizations and leaders who will join us in our efforts. Scholarships and travel funds provide nurses with the opportunity to gain ethics expertise. We welcome sharing information about Ethics of Caring and the National Nursing Ethics Conference which is critical to expanding the opportunity to the many nurses in need across the country.

Gratitude

We are deeply grateful and appreciative for all the current and past planning committee members, the sponsoring institutions, nursing leaders, and conference participants that have supported the Ethics of Caring® over these many years and have continued to inspire a passion for ethics.

Past Members of EOC/NNEC Planning Committees

• *Jennifer L. Bartlett PhD, RN-BC, CNE, CHSE 
• Tami Borneman, RN, MSN, CNS
• *Maureen Cavanaugh MS, RN, MAHCM,C-EFM 
• Becky Crane, RN, PhD
• Marge Dodero, RN, BS
• *Theresa Drought PhD, RN
• Margaret Ecker, RN, MS
• Michele Evans, RN, BSN, CHPN
• Beverly Fairbairn, RN, CCRN
• *Joan Henriksen PhD, RN 
• Sherry Hirschberg, RN, MSN
• Kirsten Inducil, BSN, RN
• Kathy Kelly, RN, CCRN
• *Donna McKlindon MSN, RN, PMHCNS-BC 
• *Douglas Olsen PhD, RN 
• Lisa Shellin, RN, BSN, MSN
• Marilyn Shirk, MN, RN, CNS-BC
• Cynthia Smith Idell, RN, BA, MSN, AOCN
• Margi Spies, RN, MEd, CNOR, NEA-BC
• Jochen Strack, BSN, MBA, MDiv, RN
• Heather Fitzgerald, DBe, RN, HEC-C
• Stacy Smith, MA, MLS, BSN, RN, HEC-C
• Mary Walton, MSN, MBE, RN, HEC-C, FAAN
• Kara Watne Sergile, MPH, BSN, RN, PHN

*Long-standing members of the Ethics of Caring Committee