8 Relevant Ethico-Legal Guidelines

• Philippine Nursing Code of Ethics - It was promulgated by the

  Philippine Regulatory Board of Nursing.
• PNA - Philippine Nurses Association
• ANSAP - Association of Nursing Service Administrators of the Philippines
• Philippine Nursing Code of Ethics


  Promulgated by the Philippine Regulatory Board of Nursing
• PNA

  Philippine Nurses Association
• ANSAP

  Association of Nursing Service Administrators of the Philippines
• Republic Act 9173


  Serves as the ethico-legal basis in the practice of the nursing profession in the Philippines
• Articles in the Code of Ethics for Nurses

  • Article I. Preamble
  • Article II. Registered Nurses and People
  • Article III. Registered Nurses and Practice
  • Article VI. Registered Nurses and the Profession
• Article I Section 1


  • Health is a fundamental right of every individual. The Filipino registered nurse, believing in the worth and dignity of each human being, recognizes the primary responsibility to preserve health at all costs.
• Article I Section 2


  • Registered nurses have to gain knowledge and understanding of man's cultural, social, spiritual, psychological, and ecological aspects of illness, utilizing the therapeutic process. Cultural diversity and political and socio-economic status are inherent factors to effective nursing care.
• Article I Section 3


  • The desire for the respect and confidence of clientele, colleagues, co-workers, and community members provides the incentive to attain and maintain the highest possible degree of ethical conduct.
• Article II Section 4

  • Values, customs, and spiritual beliefs held by individuals shall be respected. Individual freedom to make rational and unconstrained decisions shall be respected. Personal information acquired in the process of giving nursing care shall be held in strict confidence.
• Article II Section 5


  • Registered Nurses must: Consider the individuality and totality of patients when they administer care. Respect the spiritual beliefs and practices of patients regarding diet and treatment. Uphold the rights of individuals. Take into consideration the culture and values of patients in providing nursing care.
• Article III Section 6


  • Human life is inviolable. Quality and excellence in the care of the patients are the goals of nursing practice. Accurate documentation of actions and outcomes of delivered care is the hallmark of nursing accountability.
• Article III Section 7


  • Registered Nurses must: Know the definition and scope of nursing practice which are in the provisions of R. A. No. 9173, known as the "Philippine Nursing Act of 2002" and Board Res. No. 425, Series of 2003, the "Rules and Regulations Implementing the Philippine Nursing Act. of 2002", (the IRR).
• Article III Section 8


  • Registered Nurses must: Respect the "Patients' Bill of Rights" in the delivery of nursing care. Provide the patients or their families with all pertinent information except those which may be deemed harmful to their well-being. Uphold the patients' rights when conflict arises regarding management of their care.
• Article III Section 10


  • Registered nurses are aware that their actions have professional, ethical, moral, and legal dimensions. They strive to perform their work in the best interest of all concerned.
• Article III Section 11


  • Registered Nurses must: Perform their professional duties in conformity with existing laws, rules regulations. measures, and generally accepted principles of moral conduct and proper decorum. Not allow themselves to be used in advertisement that should demean the image of the profession. Decline any gift, favor or hospitality which might be interpreted as capitalizing on patients.
• Article VI Section 16


  • Maintenance of loyalty to the nursing profession and preservation of its integrity are ideal. Compliance with the by-laws of the accredited professional organization (PNA), and other professional organizations of which the Registered Nurse is a member is a lofty duty. Commitment to continual learning and active participation in the development and growth of the profession are commendable obligations.
• Patient's Bill of Rights


  A document that provides patient with information on how they can reasonably expect to be treated during the course of their hospital stay. These documents are, in almost all cases, not legally-binding.
• Rights in the Patient's Bill of Rights

  • Right to Appropriate Medical Care and Humane Treatment
  • Right to Informed Consent
  • Right to Privacy and Confidentiality
  • Right to Information
  • Right to Choose Health Care Provider and Facility
  • Right to Self-Determination
  • Right to Religious Belief
  • Right to Medical Records
  • Right to Leave
  • Right to Refuse Participation in Medical Research
  • Right to Correspondence and to Receive Visitors
  • Right to Express Grievances
  • Right to be Informed of His Rights and Obligations as a Patient
• Right to Appropriate Medical Care and Humane Treatment


  • Every person has a right to health and medical care. Patient has the right to appropriate health and medical care of good quality. Patient's human dignity, convictions, integrity, individual needs and culture shall be respected. Patient has the right to be directed to wait for care, or be referred or sent for treatment elsewhere, where the appropriate care can be provided.
• Right to Informed Consent


  • The patient has a right to a clear, truthful and substantial explanation, in a manner and language understandable to the patient, of all proposed procedures, whether diagnostic, preventive, curative, rehabilitative or therapeutic.
• Elements of Informed Consent

  • Decision-Making Ability
  • Information Sharing
  • Understanding
  • Voluntary Agreement
• Principles of Informed Consent


  • You must have the capacity (or ability) to make the decision. The medical provider must disclose information on the treatment, test, or procedure in question, including the expected benefits and risks and the likelihood (or probability) that the benefits and risks will occur. You must comprehend the relevant information. You must voluntarily grant consent without coercion or duress.
• Exceptions to Informed Consent

  • Emergency cases
  • Epidemic control
  • Law makes it compulsory for everyone to submit a procedure
  • Patient is a minor, legally incompetent, and requires a third-party consent
  • Disclosure of material information to the patient will jeopardize the success of treatment
  • Patient waives his right in writing
• Persons who can give informed consent


  • Spouse
  • Son or daughter of legal age
  • Either parent
  • Brother or sister of legal age
  • Guardian
• Types of Informed Consent

  • Written Consent
  • Oral Consent
  • Implied Consent
  • Opt-out Consent
  • Assent
• Exceptions to Informed Consent

  • Emergency Situations
  • Incompetence
• Right to Privacy and Confidentiality


  • The patient has the right to be free from unwarranted public exposure, except in certain cases. The patient has the right to demand that all information, communication and records pertaining to his care be treated as confidential, except in certain cases.
• Right to Information


  • The patient or his/her legal guardian has a right to be informed of the result of the evaluation of the nature and extent of his/her disease. The patient or his legal guardian has the right to examine and be given an itemized bill of the hospital and medical services rendered in the facility or by his/her physician and other health care providers. The patient is entitled to a brief, written summary of the course of his/her illness.
• Right to Choose Health Care Provider and Facility

  • The patient is free to choose the health care provider to serve him as well as the facility except when he is under the care of a service facility or when public health and safety so demands or when the patient expressly waives this right in writing. The patient has the right to discuss his condition with a consultant specialist, at the patient's request and expense. The patient has the right to seek for a second opinion and subsequent opinions, if appropriate, from another health care provider/practitioner.
• Right to Self-Determination


  • The patient has the right to avail himself/herself of any recommended diagnostic and treatment procedures. Any person of legal age and of sound mind may make an advance written directive for physicians to administer terminal care when he/she suffers from the terminal phase of a terminal illness.
• Right to Religious Belief


  • The patient has the right to refuse medical treatment or procedures which may be contrary to his religious beliefs.
• Right to Medical Records


  • The patient is entitled to a summary of his medical history and condition. He has the right to view the contents of his medical records, except psychiatric notes and other incriminatory information obtained about third parties. At his expense and upon discharge of the patient, he may obtain from the health care institution a reproduction of the same record whether or not he has fully settled his financial obligation with the physician or institution concerned.
• Right to Leave


  • The patient has the right to leave hospital or any other health care institution regardless of his physical condition, provided that: He/she is informed of the medical consequences of his/her decision. He/she releases those involved in his/her care from any obligation relative to the consequences of his decision. No patient shall be detained against his/her will in any health care institution on the sole basis of his failure to fully settle his financial obligations.
• Right to Refuse Participation in Medical Research


  • The patient has the right to be advised if the health care provider plans to involve him in medical research, including but not limited to human experimentation which may be performed only with the written informed consent of the patient.
• Right to Correspondence and to Receive Visitors


  • The patient has the right to communicate with relatives and other persons and to receive visitors subject to reasonable limits prescribed by the rules and regulations of the health care institution.
• Right to Express Grievances


  • The patient has the right to express complaints and grievances about the care and services received without fear of discrimination or reprisal and to know about the disposition of such complaints.
• Right to be Informed of His Rights and Obligations as a Patient


  • Every person has the right to be informed of his rights and obligations as a patient.