Mary Chemette Ortiz BSN4 BLK6 THE CODE OF ETHICS FOR FILIPINO NURSES Ethical codes are systematic

c guides for developing ethical behavior. They answer normative questions of what beliefs and values should be morally accepted.

CODE OF GOOD GOVERNANCE The Code of Good Governance promulgated by the Professional Regulation Commission on July 23, 2003 states that the hallmark of all professionals is their willingness to accept a set of professional and ethical principles which they will follow in the conduct of their daily lives. This code is adopted by the Professional Regulation Commission and the 42 Professional Regulatory Boards to cover an environment of good governance in which all Filipino professionals shall perform their duties.

GENERAL PRINCIPLES The general principles of the Code of Good Governance include the following: 1. SERVICE TO OTHERS. This implies a commitment to a life of sacrifice and genuine selflessness in carrying out their professional duties even at the expense of personal gain. 2. INTEGRITY AND OBJECTIVITY. Professionals should perform their responsibilities with the highest sense of integrity and imbued with nationalism and spiritual values, maintain objectivity, be free of conflicts of interest, refrain from engaging in any activity that would prejudice their abilities to ethically carry out their duties nor make any representations that would likely cause a reasonable person to misunderstand and be deceived. 3. PROFESSIONAL COMPETENCE. A certain level of competence is necessary, i.e, knowledge, technical skills, attitudes and experience, undertaking only those professional services they can reasonably deliver. 4. SOLIDARITY AND TEAMWORK. Each professional shall maintain and support one professional organization for all its members promoting a deep spirit of solidarity and teamwork.

5. SOCIAL AND CIVIC RESPONSIBILITY. Professionals shall always carry out their professional duties with due consideration of the broader interest of the public, serve them with professional concern consistent with their responsibilities to society and as Filipinos, contribute to the attainment of the countrys national objectives. 6. GLOBAL COMPETITIVENESS. Professionals shall remain open to the challenges of a more dynamic and interconnected world, rise up to global standards and maintain levels or professional practices fully aligned with global best practices. 7. EQUALITY OF ALL PROFESSIONS. All professionals shall treat their colleagues with respect and strive to be fair in their dealings with one another. No one group of professionals is superior or above others. All professionals perform an equally important, yet distinct, service to society.

BASIC HUMAN RIGHTS OF RESEARCH SUBJECTS Adequate protection of human subjects includes their legal as well as moral rights. They must be given the right to informed consent, the right to refuse or withdraw from participation, privacy, confidentiality or anonymity of data and protection from harm. 1. RIGHT TO INFORMED CONSENT. Recognition of self-determination and thorough comprehension of the proposed participation are the two components of self-determination. Self-determination means free consent is pre-requisite to any human involvement. The subjects must also understand the risks involved, the benefits anticipated, time and energy requirements and any anticipated loss of dignity or autonomy; any anticipate pain or discomfort, psychological stress or embarrassment; and the way the data will be held and reported. 2. THE RIGHT TO REFUSE AND/OR WITHDRAW FROM PARTICIPATION. The person has the right to refuse to participate. There shall be neither recrimination for refusal nor for withdrawing from participation. Nurses shall explore the subjects reason for refusing. Refusal to participate can be minimized, if at the onset the subject has been given careful and honest opinion on what is to be done. 3. RIGHT TO PRIVACY. The right includes privacy of ones thought, opinions a nd physical presence and privacy of ones records. The subject has the freedom to decide the time, the extent and circumstances he/she will willingly share his/her presence, thoughts, beliefs, attitudes and behavior with others.

4. RIGHT TO CONFIDENTIALITY OR ANONYMITY OF DATA. Data about the research subjects shall be handled confidentially. Data shall be available only to the research staff and shall be reported anonymously. Data shall not be used other than for the specific purpose for which the subject gave consent and shall not be made public or available to others. The identity of the agency shall be protected. This shall be done unless knowledge about the setting is necessary in the interpretation of the data. After the report is written, all data by which individuals can be identified shall be destroyed. They shall be burned or shredded and not dropped into the wastebasket as someone may find and use them for other purposes. 5. RIGHT TO BE PROTECTED FROM HARM. There shall be appropriate balance between potential benefits of the research and the risks assumed by the subjects. This is called the riskbenefit ratio in which the benefits outweigh the harm. Minimal risk is defined as exposure to the possibility of injury going beyond everyday situations. These include physical, legal, emotional, financial, and social harm.

VULNERABLE SUBJECTS Subjects who are mentally ill or legally incompetent such as the unconscious, or are in unique situations, like fetuses, require special attention. Mentally ill, mentally retarded, unconscious patients and minors are incapable of evaluating the risks involved and cannot be given consent in their own behalf. Consent of parents or guardians are required. Investigative studies regarding fetuses shall have the consent in the presence of a third person because of the possible danger or injury to it. The Philippine Constitution guarantees the protection of the life of the mother and the life of the unborn. Students are vulnerable as their participation or non-participation may affect their grades. Employees may participate because of the influence it may bring tp their promotion, salary increases or bonuses. It must be explained to them that this is not so.