Introduction Nursing practice at all levels experiences a variety of ethical issues during their day-to-day work. Over the last thirty years, an impressive international scholarship has emerged that deals with nursing ethics. This offers comprehensive philosophical critiques of the issues that are faced by nurses and the best strategies to deal with them. The most disturbing and frequent ethical issues reported by nurses include informed consent, protecting the rights of patients, and human dignity. Others include the use of chemical/ physical constraints, providing care with possible risks to their health, and using physical/chemical restraints. Furthermore, it includes working with unethical/impaired, incompetent colleagues, and poor working conditions among others. Several strategies can be implemented to help cope with these issues and this discussion will look at the issue of working with incompetent colleagues. Key strategies pertinent to ethical issues Staying in control of one’s work is difficult enough. However, having to deal with colleagues who are incompetent and watch over their work can be frustrating. The following strategies can be used to deal with an incompetent colleague. Have the facts right It is always wise to have the facts right before taking any step. It could be that the colleague just has a different way of working. However, if the objective is met, there will be no need for change. Jumping to conclusions is wrong unless incompetency is confirmed. Asking for a second opinion from another colleague can be helpful (Nettina, 1996). Look for any underlying causes Individuals go through some difficult moments in their lives. Thus, the colleague may be suffering a difficult moment hence affecting the work quality. This is not directly helpful as someone needs to cover up for them. However, understanding that the problem is not due to laziness or ignorance can help to accept the extra work that needs to be done. Adding worries to the colleague may not be helpful and may end up causing more harm than good. Speak to the colleague about the problem Once the incompetency has been confirmed, it is worth talking to him/her about it. One should not be abusive or rude. However, one should just point out when something is wrong and make new suggestions for doing what is right. One should act gently as it could be that the colleagues had not realized that what they were doing was wrong. Furthermore, they could not have realized that they were being noticed. If the response is rude and the colleague does not change ways, then it is only wise to report them to the higher authorities (Iyer & Aiken, 2001). Collect and analyze the evidence One should make note of any issue that may arise including the time, date, and the people involved. The effect of the incompetency should also be noted, and the negative effect the issue has on the workload of other employees. This can be used as a statement proof in case the cases require to be reported to higher authorities (Iyer & Aiken, 2001). Report the issue to the boss Once the evidence has been gathered, and the colleague has refused change, the boss should be informed. If nothing is done, one can confront t