International event in Udine: Nursing Ethics in our Days

Ethics and moral competence: 30 students from across Europe in Udine for an international discussion

On May 29^th and 30^th, 2025, the international conference "Nursing Ethics in our Days" was held in Udine, organized by the University of Udine in collaboration with the Azienda Sanitaria Universitaria Friuli Centrale. The accredited event, dedicated to healthcare professionals and master's degree students, represented an important opportunity for discussion on the issues of ethics in nursing care.

The conference was attended by 30 students from seven European universities (University of Maribor, Angela Boskin University, University of Primoska, University of Turku, University of Tartu, Technical University of Cyprus, University of Patras) supported by 15 professors, researchers and healthcare professionals from 10 academic institutions, including Trinity College Dublin (Ireland), University of Turku (Finland), University of Leuven (Belgium), Cyprus Nurses and Midwifes Association (Cyprus) and University of Patras (Greece), who are already partners in the European project PROMOCON (Promoting a Morally Competent Nurse). The main objective was to reflect on the present and future of nursing ethics supporting the development of moral competences and fostering international cooperation in this field.

The program featured presentations over two days aimed to updating knowledge on emerging ethical challenges in nursing practice, exploring the factors that promote moral competence and the tools to evaluate it, enhancing teaching strategies to develop ethical skills in university courses and in continuing education, discussing emerging ethical dilemmas in clinical, organizational, educational and research contexts, showcasing the results of the European PROMOCON project and initiating new scientific collaborations between European Universities.

The conference opened with welcome by Prof. Alvisa Palese and lectio magistralis by Prof. Chris Gastmans (University of Leuven) on "Nursing ethics today and tomorrow". This was followed by presentations on tools for assessing moral competence, innovative teaching strategies and results from the development of the Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) dedicated to ethics in nursing, presented by Dr. Johanna Wiisak, Prof. Michael Igoumenidis and Prof. Nikos Stefanopoulos and moderated by Prof. Melita Persolja and Prof. Minna Stolt.

A particularly significant moment was the presentation of the results of the interviews conducted by the master's degree students with experts within the Blended Intensive Programme (BIP) project, together with Dr. Maria Dimitriadou. They illustrated situations and ethical dilemmas experienced in clinical, organizational, training and research contexts.

During the second day, ample space was reserved for the European PROMOCON project, coordinated by the University of Udine. The results of the project – including the toolkit to support teachers in using MOOC and the Good Practice Guide – were presented by the participating faculty memebers, including Dr. Stefania Chiappinotto, Prof. Catherine McCabe, Prof. Brian Keogh and Prof. Evridiki Papastavrou, moderated by Dr. Renzo Moreale and Prof. Riitta Suhonen.

The conference concluded with a round table discussion on methods of teaching ethics at the participating universities.

The event served as a virtuous example of international, multidisciplinary and interprofessional cooperation, providing students and professionals with concrete tools to competently address the ethical challenges of the nursing profession.

The University of Udine thus confirms its role as a promoter of European-wide initiatives, capable of combining research, training and professional practice in the ethical and shared vision of care.