This paper discusses how true nursing leadership evolves when a person has demonstrated, beyond any shadow of a doubt, a
pure passion for the ultimate exercise of thorough
competence and professionalism in medicine and that indeed can - and must - create of climate of core ethical values for others to thrive in and follow as an example of good work principles. It analyzes those qualities and competencies a nursing leader must demonstrate, day in and day out, in order to create an ethical workplace environment and an ongoing process of efficiency based on principled thinking and accurate data. It also looks at the importance of a climate where individual virtues are extolled and rewarded among staff and where moral
conflicts are mediated in a calm, dispassionate format, and where enthusiasm, total commitment to the patient, and intelligent decision making, dominate the environment. Outline Introduction In Search of Ethical Values Virtue and "Goods Internal to a Practice" as Pivotal Ingredients in Ethics Florence Nightingale's Style of Powerful Leadership Need for Stronger Nursing Leadership in Australia Nursing Leadership at the Highest Level of Nursing The Ethics of Individuals at the Grassroots Level of the Nursing Field Addressing Negative Forces Prior to Inspiring Moral Reasoning Conclusion: Core Ethical Values Found in the Nursing Code of Ethics