LAUSR

The period between January 2020 and the beginning of 2023 has placed significant pressures on individuals, communities and nations. The effect of climate change and the impact around the globe of severe weather; conflict in various parts of the world and the impact of inflation have all contributed to these pressures during this time. Add to this equation the COVID pandemic, then we have, as these authors suggest, a situation where clinical practice, over every area of nursing expe-rience, have faced major ethical challenges. This paper raises important issues for the nursing profession that go beyond the current pandemic and centre on the advocacy role that nurses have whether they are the most recently qualified practitioner or a chief nurse. The principles of the International Council of Nurses’ code of ethics (ICN, 2012) apply across all members of the profession. The challenge highlighted in this paper is how can the profession enable the nursing voice to be heard and acted on across all settings. At the 75th World Health Assembly in May 2022, ICN representatives stressed the importance of ensuring the world’s largest health profession’s role at all levels of policy development (ICN, 2022). The