Which organization reviews and revises the nursing code to reflect changes in practice while keeping core principles such as responsibility, accountability, advocacy, and confidentiality?

• A. American Nurses Association
• B. The Joint Commission
• C. World Health Organization
• D. National Council of State Boards of Nursing

Answer: (A)

Updating ethical standards for nursing is handled by the professional organization that authored the code. The American Nurses Association develops and revises the Code of Ethics for Nurses with Interpretive Statements, ensuring it reflects changes in practice while preserving enduring principles like responsibility, accountability, advocacy, and confidentiality. This means the ANA periodically revises the code to address new technologies, standards of care, and patient expectations, guiding nurses’ ethical decision-making across settings. The Joint Commission focuses on accrediting healthcare organizations and setting patient-safety standards, not on the nursing ethics code. The World Health Organization issues global health guidelines, not a national nursing ethics code. The National Council of State Boards of Nursing works on licensure and model practice acts, not the profession’s ethics code. So, the organization that reviews and revises the nursing code while maintaining core principles is the American Nurses Association.