To review the literature on perceptions of nursing students and/or educators on the contribution of ethics education to ethical competence in nursing students.

Nurses do not always demonstrate the competencies necessary to engage in ethical practice. Educators continue to debate about the best ways to teach ethics to nurses so that they can develop ethical competencies.

MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, PsycINFO, and Web of Science.

A total of 15 articles with a quantitative, qualitative, or mixed-methods design published between January 1992 and March 2012 were analyzed.

According to students and educators, ethics education increases ethical perception of nursing students and the development of reflective and analytical skills. However, its contribution to the development of ethical behavior was barely mentioned. The accounts of students and educators revealed essential features of effective ethics education: active involvement of students in case study discussions and use of ethical frameworks. The use of activating educational strategies requires a safe learning environment where students can openly reflect on values at stake in their care practice.

A better understanding of how students learn to develop ethical skills and of influencing factors can guide educators to develop ethics courses for nursing curriculum. Future research needs to focus on the methodological accuracy of sampling and measuring instruments.