Nurses recognize and respect the inherent worth of each person and advocate for
respectful treatment of all persons.
1. Nurses must relate to all persons receiving care as persons worthy of respect and
endeavour in all their actions to preserve and demonstrate respect for the dignity and
rights of each individual.
2. Nurses must be sensitive to an individual’s needs, values and choices.
3. Nurses should take into account the biological, psychological, social, cultural and
spiritual needs of persons in health care.
4. Nurses must recognize the vulnerability of persons and must not exploit their
vulnerabilities for the nurse’s own interest or in a way that might compromise the
therapeutic relationship. Nurses must maintain professional boundaries to ensure their
professional relationships are for the benefit of the person they serve. For example,
they must avoid sexual intimacy with patients, avoid exploiting the trust and
dependency of persons in their care and must not use their professional relationships
for personal or financial gain.
5. Nurses must respect the physical privacy of persons when care is given, by providing
care in a discreet manner and by minimizing unwanted intrusions.
6. Nurses must intervene if others fail to respect the dignity of persons in care.
7. Nurses must advocate for appropriate use of interventions in order to minimize
unnecessary and unwanted procedures that may increase suffering.
8. Nurses must seek out and honour persons’ wishes regarding how they want to live the
remainder of their life. Decision-making about life sustaining treatment is guided by
these considerations.
9. Nurses should advocate for health and social conditions that allow persons to live and
die with dignity.
10. Nurses must avoid engaging in any form of punishment, unusual treatment or action
that is inhuman or degrading towards the persons in their care and must avoid
complicity in such behaviours.