Nurse managers are responsible for solving work-related ethical problems to promote a positive ethical culture in healthcare organizations.

The aim of this study was to describe the activities that nurse managers use to solve work-related ethical problems. The ultimate aim was to enhance the ethical awareness of all nurse managers.

The data for this descriptive cross-sectional survey were analyzed through inductive content analysis and quantification.

The data were collected in 2011 using a questionnaire that included an open-ended question and background factors. Participants were nurse managers working in Finnish healthcare organizations (n = 122).

Permission for the study was given by the Finnish Association of Academic Managers and Experts of Health Sciences.

Nurse managers identified a variety of activities they use to solve work-related ethical problems: discussion (30%), cooperation (25%), work organization (17%), intervention (10%), personal values (9%), operational models (4%), statistics and feedback (4%), and personal examples (1%). However, these activities did not follow any common or systematic model.

In the future, nurse managers need a more systematic approach to solve ethical problems. It is important to establish new kinds of ethics structures in organizations, such as a common, systematic ethical decision-making model and an ethics club for nurse manager problems, to support nurse managers in solving work-related ethical problems.