WSNA raises concerns about draft ANA Code of Ethics provision

WSNA has heard from several members with concerns about a draft of the proposed 2025 Code of Ethics for Nurses with Interpretive Statements. The Code is periodically revised and updated by ANA; the current edition of the Code is from 2015.

The draft of Interpretive Statement 2.4, Issues of Safety in the Nurse-Patient Relationship, discusses avenues for advocacy. It includes this sentence:

“When a strike is deemed the most viable option, nurse organizers ought to examine the structure of the systems in place at their organization or within their state and ensure there is a process in place to care for patients.”

While this statement acknowledges that strikes are an avenue of advocacy for nurses rights and patient safety, the phrasing is very problematic: It has the effect of placing responsibility for patient care during a strike on the union, not on the employer, where it belongs. Labor law already requires nurses to provide 10-day notice before conducting a strike (or picketing) against a health care employer. The statement ignores the employer’s ethical duties—for providing safe working conditions; for reducing census when receiving notice of a strike; and for not bringing in strikebreakers who often have no familiarity with the hospital or their assigned units.

Keep in mind that the statement is part of a draft that is circulating for comment. WSNA, along with the Oregon Nurses Association and Montana Nurses Association, has provided comments advocating that the language be struck. We also spoke directly to this at a Dialogue Forum at the recent ANA Membership Assembly. The entire draft Code will be further revised and then considered by the ANA Board of Directors. We will continue to push for removal of this problematic language.

The draft Code and a form for submitting comments may be found here. The comment period is open until 7am PDT on Saturday, August 3. The language in question appears at lines 177-179 of the draft Code.

If you wish to submit comments yourself, you might consider using language such as the following:

As an ANA member, I am troubled by the language at lines 177-179 regarding strikes (beginning with “When a strike is deemed the most viable option…”) The language inappropriately places responsibility for ensuring patient care during a strike on union “nurse organizers,” while in fact that responsibility belongs to the employer. It ignores the existing requirement to provide a 10-day notice to health care employers prior to a strike or picket. Whether intended or not, this language would be used against nurse union members who make the difficult decision to strike to protect their rights and patient safety. I strongly urge that the language be deleted from subsequent drafts of the Code.