This critical discussion paper reveals a shift in nursing values, suggesting new research strategies for doctoral education.
Aim To explore the potential axiological shift in nursing, drawing upon a critical reading of the new definition of ‘nursing’ published by the International Council of Nurses (ICN) in June 2025, and to articulate its implications for research and doctoral education. Design Critical discussion paper. Methods Guided by critical inquiry and emancipatory nursing knowledge development approaches, this paper deploys retroductive analysis to interrogate the axiological commitments that inform and are generated by the 2025 ICN definition and how it relates to nursing research. Consequently, it utilises the Vitae Researcher Development Framework (RDF) to map strategies for doctoral programmes responding to this axiological shift. Results A comprehensive axiological analysis of the 2025 ICN definition reveals a shift towards valuing human rights, relationality and care, planetary health and transformative leadership. However, an axiological analysis of prevailing nursing research definitions indicates a gap, particularly an explicit commitment to these expanded values beyond upholding scientific rigour. In response, an Axiologically‐Driven Research Development Strategy Framework (ADRDSF) is proposed, integrating ICN's new axiologies across doctoral programmes in nursing. Implications for Nursing This axiological shift signals the reorientation of nursing research to be explicitly value‐driven, ethical and focused on social justice, relationality and planetary health. Doctoral programmes must cultivate scholars and leaders who are not only competent but also axiologically aligned, capable of driving this transformative research agenda for a more just and sustainable future.
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Jerome V. Cleofas (2025) studied this question.
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