Part four: Health professions

Employed nurses, whether bound to their employer by a contract or employed in a public setting, must not take advantage of their duties to increase their personal clientele.

Nurses, whatever their status, are required to respect their professional duties and in particular their obligations concerning professional secrecy and the independence of their decisions. Under no circumstances may nurses accept restrictions on their professional independence from their employer. Wherever they practise, they must always act first and foremost in the interests of public health, people and their safety.

The salaried nurse may not, under any circumstances, accept that his or her remuneration or the duration of his or her employment depend, in whole or in part, on standards of productivity, hourly output or any other provision which would have the effect of limiting or abandoning his or her independence or undermining the quality or safety of care.

I.-In accordance with the provisions of article L. 4113-9, the practice of the nursing profession in any form whatsoever within a company, local authority or institution governed by private law is subject to a written contract. This contract defines the respective obligations of the parties and specifies the means that will enable the professional to comply with the provisions of this Code of Deontology. II – Any contract, renewal of…

The habitual practice of the nursing profession, in any form whatsoever, within a State administration, a local authority or a public establishment is subject to a written contract, except in cases where the professional is a permanent employee of the State, a local authority or a public establishment and in cases where it is governed by legislative or regulatory provisions which do not provide for the conclusion of a contract….