Rwanda
Ministerial Order determining the Code of Professional Conduct for Nurses and Midwives
Ministerial Order 23 of 2011
- Published in Official Gazette 15 on 11 April 2011
- Assented to on 7 March 2011
- Commenced on 11 April 2011
- [This is the version of this document from 11 April 2011.]
Chapter One
General provisions
Article One – Purpose of this Order
This Order establishes the professional Code of conduct for nurses and midwives in Rwanda.Article 2 – Scope of this Order
This Order concerns nurses and midwives registered with the National Council of Nurses and Midwives. Every institution employing a nurse and/or a midwife shall keep a copy of the Code of conduct of nurses and midwives.Article 3 – Professional responsibilities
The primary professional responsibility of a nurse or a midwife shall be to preserve health for those people requiring nursing care.A nurse or midwife shall have the following four (4) main responsibilities:1°to promote health;2°to prevent illness;3°to restore health;4°to alleviate suffering.Respect for human rights, particularly the right to life, to free choice, dignity and human treatment as well as cultural rights shall be an integral part of professional conduct of nurses and midwives.Article 4 – Non discriminative profession
Nursing and midwifery services shall not be influenced by any consideration of age, color, creed, culture, disability or illness, gender, nationality, politics, region, social status or any other personal characteristic.Article 5 – Nursing and midwifery services
A nurse or midwife shall render health services to the individual, the family and the community and co-ordinates his/her services with those of other groups of similar responsibilities.Chapter II
Conduct towards patients
Article 6 – Respect for human rights and values
Without prejudice to provisions of particular laws that specify the rights of a patient in Rwanda, a nurse and midwife shall:1°promote the respect of human rights, human dignity, culture and spiritual beliefs of the individual, family and community;2°ensure that the individual receives written and sufficient information on which to base his or her consent for care and related treatment;3°keep confidential any information related to an individual and shall share this information with colleagues advisedly.Article 7 – Collaboration in promoting health activities
A nurse or midwife shall collaborate with members of the community in initiating and supporting actions to meet the health and social needs, in particular those of vulnerable populations.The nurse or midwife shall also collaborate with others in conserving the environment in order to protect it from depletion, pollution, degradation and destruction.Article 8 – Refusal to act for lack of capacity and competence
A nurse or midwife is required to reject any instructions to perform any activity that is outside his/her scope of competence or one for which he/she lacks sufficient knowledge. However, in that case, he/she shall inform his/her supervisor or the person who gave him/her such instructions.Article 9 – Quality care and continuing professional development
A nurse or a midwife shall be obliged to fulfill his/her duties. He/she shall regularly demonstrate his/her continual use of technical knowhow and knowledge and always train in modern techniques.Article 10 – Delegation of powers
A nurse or midwife shall use his/her discreet on the basis of his/her capacity as well as the capacity of a colleague when delegating powers.Article 11 – Obligation to care of his/her health
A nurse or a midwife shall be obliged to take care of his/her personal health so that his/her responsibility of providing care is not compromised.Article 12 – Discretion on duty
A nurse or a midwife shall ensure that no action or omission on his/her part that may be harmful to health.Article 13 – Safe use of science and technology
A nurse or midwife shall ensure that use of science and technology on duty is compatible with the safety, dignity and people’s rights.Article 14 – Activities contrary to moral and professional convictions
A nurse or a midwife shall have the right to refuse to participate in activities contrary to his/her personal moral and professional convictions. However, such rights shall not contravene his/her responsibilities towards patients and those who require his/her services.Chapter III
Conduct of a nurse or a midwife in performing his/her duties
Article 15 – Abide by laws and regulations
A nurse or a midwife shall abide by the laws and regulations of the country, in particular those relevant to her/his profession.Article 16 – Maintain professional honor
A nurse or a midwife shall demonstrate at all times a personal conduct that honors the profession and enhance public confidence in nursing and midwifery staff.Article 17 – Participation in designing and implementation of professional regulations
A nurse or a midwife shall participate in designing and implementing guiding principles of nursing, midwifery, management, research and education in matters regarding professional practice or duties of a nurse and a midwife.Article 18 – Participation in developing professional skills
A nurse or midwife shall be active in developing a core of research-based professional skills.Article 19 – Role in enhancing better working conditions
A nurse or a midwife, acting through professional federation or association in which he/she is a member, shall participate in creating and maintaining safe, equitable social and economic working conditions in nursing or midwifery practice respectively.Article 20 – Safe management of resources
A nurse or a midwife shall safely manage and maintain assets under his/her control as well as public resources.Chapter IV
Relations between a nurse, a midwife and colleagues
Article 21 – Interdisciplinary collaboration
A nurse or a midwife shall sustain a co-operative relationship with professional colleagues and co workers.Article 22 – Appropriate measures to protect people
A nurse or a midwife shall take appropriate measures in order to preserve the health of an individual, families and the public when endangered by a colleague or any other person.Article 23 – Sharing and exchanging expertise
A nurse or a midwife shall share expertise and knowledge with colleagues and exchange views on various professional issues that may arise in their profession.Article 24 – Non evasion of responsibilities
A nurse or a midwife shall avoid to relinquish his/her duties and to overburden his/her colleagues in order to evade responsibilities.Chapter VII
Final provisions
Article 25 – Repealing provision
All prior provisions contrary to this Order are hereby repealed.Article 26 – Commencement
This Order shall come into force on the date of its publication in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Rwanda.History of this document
11 April 2011 this version
Commenced
07 March 2011
Assented to