Nurse Ethicist

IU Health

Indianapolis, Indiana

You'll coach bedside nurses through ethical issues and moral distress. IU Health is an academic medical center.

Posted Jun 13, 2025 · 5 years of experience

Shift and hours: Days
License: RN license Requires an active Registered Nurse (RN) license in the state of Indiana or an active Nurse Licensure Compact (NLC) RN license.active RN license in Indiana
Term: Permanent

Do you qualify?

License: active RN license in Indiana Requires an active Registered Nurse (RN) license in the state of Indiana or an active Nurse Licensure Compact (NLC) RN license. Check your license
License: active NLC RN license Check your license
Certification: HEC-C certification HEC-C certification required.
Education: PhD, DPN, or other terminal degree PhD, DPN, or other commensurate terminal degree required.
Experience: 5-7 years of relevant experience Requires 5-7 years of relevant experience.
Experience: 3-5 years of clinical ethics experience 3-5 years of clinical ethics experience.

What it pays

Benefits

BenefitsPTOIU Health also offers a substantial benefits package, PTO, 401k match and several other programs to meet your needs.
Benefits401k match

Posted pay in Indiana

The role and schedule

Day to day: coaching bedside nurses on ethics and moral distress Coach bedside nurses on ethical issues and moral distress.
Day to day: running the UBEC program as faculty Facilitate and manage the UBEC program in collaboration with FCME - serve as UBEC faculty.
Day to day: nursing-perspective ethics policy development Support ethics policy management and development from a nursing perspective.
Day to day: building ethics relationships across regions Develop strategic relationships with regions to support ethics growth.
Day to day: mentoring ethics fellows Mentor ethics fellows as interests and expertise align.
Day to day: ethics events and partner lectures with fellowship staff Collaborate with fellowship staff to ensure successful events and partner lectures.
On call: two or more months a year of faculty-on-call ethics service (20% on-call time) Serve two or more months as faculty-on-call ethics service annually (20% on-call time).

The team behind this role

Preceptors and orientation

Residency includes robust orientation, ongoing mentorship, debriefing on clinical judgment; non-punitive support for new grads in first year

IU Health · employer research

Sources

As of 2025Source 1: careers.iuhealth.org Source 2: youtube.com

Scheduling

Flexible scheduling promoted; decent PTO; some note sick leave and holidays combined into single PTO bank; Home Health RN cited ability to create own schedule

IU Health · confirm this unit

Sources

As of 2026Source 1: glassdoor.com Source 2: indeed.com

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Original listing

Posted on IU Health’s careers page.

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IU Health is looking for team members who are passionate about challenging and significant work for the good of every patient. We are searching for individuals who are compassionate, serve with a purpose, are dedicated to supporting their team, and who seek excellence every day. We have an outstanding new position available for a Nurse Ethicist to join our team!

The Nurse Ethicist will develop and manage collaborative relationships with nursing leadership and floor nursing staff to gain in-depth understanding of most urgent internal needs - nursing ethics needs assessment. Support departmental reporting and dissemination of work. Collaborate with fellowship staff to ensure successful events and partner lectures.

Mentor ethics fellows as interests and expertise align. Serve as a member of various committees according to interest and expertise. Serve two or more months as faculty-on-call ethics service annually (20% on-call time).

Support ethics policy management and development from a nursing perspective. Contribute to scholarship representation of department Develop strategic initiatives related to ethics and nursing in collaboration with nursing leadership. Facilitate and manage the UBEC program in collaboration with FCME - serve as UBEC faculty.

Develop strategic relationships with regions to support ethics growth. Coach bedside nurses on ethical issues and moral distress. As the most comprehensive medical system in Indiana, IU Health offers many different career opportunities as you grow professionally.

IU Health also offers a substantial benefits package, PTO, 401k match and several other programs to meet your needs. This is just a few reasons why applying for your career with IU Health is a good choice. PhD, DPN, or other commensurate terminal degree required.

Requires 5-7 years of relevant experience. 3-5 years of clinical ethics experience. Requires an active Registered Nurse (RN) license in the state of Indiana or an active Nurse Licensure Compact (NLC) RN license.

HEC-C certification required.

What's around it?

In Indianapolis, IN

Indianapolis, IN

Living costs about 4% below the US average

Life in Indianapolis, IN

NeighborhoodsYoung professionals concentrate in Broad Ripple—a lively, artsy, dog-friendly cultural district with parks and Butler University energy—plus Downtown for jobs, cultural trails, museums, and nightlife; Fountain Square for walkable lofts and entertainment; historic Lockerbie Square with Mass Ave access; and Meridian-Kessler. Reddit locals also point to Old Northside on the Monon bike trail north of Mass Ave and Near Eastside neighborhoods west of Rural Street. Families more often choose Carmel (polished), Fishers (modern family-first), Westfield (activities and sports), Noblesville (blended variety), Greenwood (south-side value), Brownsburg (west-side family base), and Plainfield (practical west side). Core neighborhoods trade yards for walkability; the suburbs mean a car commute but more space.

Young professionals concentrate in Broad Ripple—a lively, artsy, dog-friendly cultural district with parks and Butler University energy—plus Downtown for jobs, cultural trails, museums, and nightlife; Fountain Square for walkable lofts and entertainment; historic Lockerbie Square with Mass Ave access; and Meridian-Kessler. Reddit locals also point to Old Northside on the Monon bike trail north of Mass Ave and Near Eastside neighborhoods west of Rural Street.

Families more often choose Carmel (polished), Fishers (modern family-first), Westfield (activities and sports), Noblesville (blended variety), Greenwood (south-side value), Brownsburg (west-side family base), and Plainfield (practical west side). Core neighborhoods trade yards for walkability; the suburbs mean a car commute but more space.

Sources

As of Sep 11, 2026Source 1: extraspace.com Source 2: livinginindianapolis.com Source 3: reddit.com Source 4: youtube.com

Getting aroundIndianapolis is car-dependent with limited public transit, so hospital and downtown shifts generally mean driving rather than a named rail line; locals warn that March pothole season is hard on suspensions and that drivers and road quality are a consistent complaint. Downtown can feel quiet after 6 p.m., which matters for nights coming off shift. Family suburbs—Carmel, Fishers, Westfield, Noblesville, Greenwood, Brownsburg, Plainfield—are chosen as much for how the daily commute and school run feel as for the house. These sources do not name specific hospital campuses, parking rules, or bus/rail line numbers.

Indianapolis is car-dependent with limited public transit, so hospital and downtown shifts generally mean driving rather than a named rail line; locals warn that March pothole season is hard on suspensions and that drivers and road quality are a consistent complaint. Downtown can feel quiet after 6 p.m., which matters for nights coming off shift.

Family suburbs—Carmel, Fishers, Westfield, Noblesville, Greenwood, Brownsburg, Plainfield—are chosen as much for how the daily commute and school run feel as for the house. These sources do not name specific hospital campuses, parking rules, or bus/rail line numbers.

Sources

As of Sep 11, 2026Source 1: extraspace.com Source 2: youtube.com Source 3: reddit.com Source 4: livinginindianapolis.com

OutdoorsDowntown White River State Park offers 250 acres, a scenic canal, and stacked attractions; the Monon bike trail threads Old Northside and Broad Ripple, and Carmel’s Monon Center has a waterpark. Reddit outdoors people use Eagle Creek and Fort Harrison (Ft Ben) State Park for hiking, fishing, and mountain biking, plus other in-city parks and trails. Visit Indy also pushes running and biking culture, golf (Pete Dye began his career here), playgrounds, and SPARK on the Circle, which turns Monument Circle into a summer oasis. Tripadvisor catalogs 114 parks.

Downtown White River State Park offers 250 acres, a scenic canal, and stacked attractions; the Monon bike trail threads Old Northside and Broad Ripple, and Carmel’s Monon Center has a waterpark. Reddit outdoors people use Eagle Creek and Fort Harrison (Ft Ben) State Park for hiking, fishing, and mountain biking, plus other in-city parks and trails.

Visit Indy also pushes running and biking culture, golf (Pete Dye began his career here), playgrounds, and SPARK on the Circle, which turns Monument Circle into a summer oasis. Tripadvisor catalogs 114 parks.

Sources

As of Sep 11, 2026Source 1: visitindy.com Source 2: reddit.com Source 3: reddit.com Source 4: tripadvisor.com

Others hiring in Indianapolis, IN

Check licensing in IN

See Indianapolis, IN

Moving for this role?

Employer relocation terms

Relocation incentives for qualifying hires up to $10,000

IU Health · eligibility varies by role

Sources

As of 2026Source: careers.iuhealth.org

Living in Indianapolis

Young professionals live in Broad Ripple (artsy, dog-friendly, Butler University), Fountain Square lofts, historic Lockerbie Square off Mass Ave, Meridian-Kessler, and Downtown near museums and cultural trails; families usually pick Carmel or Fishers at a premium, Westfield for sports, or Greenwood, Brownsburg, and Plainfield for value and school runs. Get outside on the Monon Trail, at 250-acre White River State Park and its canal, Eagle Creek, and Fort Harrison State Park. Culture is the Indy 500 and IMS Museum, Colts and Pacers, SPARK on Monument Circle, and a few walkable districts—not a 24-hour city. You will drive: transit is limited, March potholes punish cars, winters are gray and cold, summers humid, and downtown can empty after 6 p.m. Crime, pollution, and a slower tempo are real. It rewards pragmatists who want space, sports, and friendly neighborhoods over coastal density.

AI area guide

Sources

As of 2026Source 1: extraspace.com Source 2: livinginindianapolis.com Source 3: extraspace.com Source 4: youtube.com Source 5: visitindy.com Source 6: alyssaponticello.com Source 7: reddit.com Source 8: livinginindianapolis.com

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