Call for papers - Ethical challenges in nursing practice

Guest Editors

Edison Luiz Devos Barlem, PhD, Federal University of Rio Grande, Brazil
Yusrita Zolkefli, PhD, Universiti Brunei Darussalam, Brunei

Submission Status: Open | Submission Deadline: 31 October 2025

BMC Medical Ethics is calling for submissions to our Collection on Ethical challenges in nursing practice. This Collection invites researchers to contribute to the exploration of ethical challenges in nursing practice. We welcome submissions that investigate various ethical dilemmas faced by nurses, including advocacy, consent, boundary ethics, cultural sensitivity, and the role of ethical communication in enhancing care quality. Our aim is to foster dialogue on the best practices that support ethical nursing, ultimately improving patient care and outcomes.

New Content Item This Collection supports and amplifies research related to SDG 4: Quality Education.

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Meet the Guest Editors

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Edison Luiz Devos Barlem, PhD, Federal University of Rio Grande, Brazil

Dr Devos Barlem is a Researcher in Ethics and Bioethics, currently serving as a Research Productivity Fellow at the National Research Council (CNPq) in Brazil. He holds a PhD in Nursing. He coordinates the Post-Graduate Program in Nursing at FURG/Brazil and is a Permanent Professor in the Post-Graduate Programs in Nursing and Health Sciences at the same institution. Dr Devos Barlem's expertise lies in nursing and health ethics, educational technologies in nursing and health education, the exercise of power and its relationship with work organization, health judicialization, moral distress, health advocacy, and moral sensitivity.

Yusrita Zolkefli, PhD, Universiti Brunei Darussalam, Brunei

Dr Zolkefli is an Assistant Professor at Universiti Brunei Darussalam. Her research is centred on the ethics of nursing practice. Dr Zolkefli has led several international projects, such as the teaching of nursing ethics in Southeast Asia. In addition to serving as the Chair of the Faculty Research Ethics Committee, Dr Zolkefli is also an Editorial Board Member for numerous journals. International Care Ethics Observatory of University of Surrey awarded her the Human Rights and Nursing Award in 2019. In 2023, she served as a visiting research scholar at the University of Edinburgh.

About the Collection

The nursing profession is inherently linked to a range of ethical dilemmas that practitioners face in their daily work. As healthcare evolves and becomes more complex, nurses are often at the forefront of navigating these ethical challenges, which include issues related to patient autonomy, informed consent, boundary ethics, and cultural sensitivity. Addressing ethical challenges in nursing practice is vital for ensuring high-quality patient care and fostering a trusting therapeutic relationship between nurses and their patients. Recent advancements in nursing ethics have highlighted the significance of incorporating ethical frameworks into nursing education and practice, thereby equipping practitioners with the tools needed to navigate complex ethical scenarios.

BMC Medical Ethics is calling for submissions to our Collection on Ethical challenges in nursing practice. This Collection seeks to address the multifaceted ethical considerations that arise within nursing practice, emphasizing the importance of ethical reflection and communication as nurses advocate for their patients' needs and rights. Key topics of interest for submission include, but are not limited to:

Nursing advocacy and patient rights
Consent in care: ethical considerations
Boundary ethics in nursing practice
Cultural sensitivity in patient care
Ethical communication and patient prioritization

This Collection supports and amplifies research related to SDG 4: Quality Education.

All manuscripts submitted to this journal, including those submitted to collections and special issues, are assessed in line with our editorial policies and the journal’s peer review process. Reviewers and editors are required to declare competing interests and can be excluded from the peer review process if a competing interest exists.

There are currently no articles in this collection.

Submission Guidelines

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This Collection welcomes submission of original Research Articles. Should you wish to submit a different article type, please read our submission guidelines to confirm that type is accepted by the journal. Articles for this Collection should be submitted via our submission system, Snapp. During the submission process you will be asked whether you are submitting to a Collection, please select "Ethical challenges in nursing practice" from the dropdown menu.

All manuscripts submitted to this journal, including those submitted to collections and special issues, are assessed in line with our editorial policies and the journal’s peer review process. Reviewers and editors are required to declare competing interests and can be excluded from the peer review process if a competing interest exists.