Professional Ethics and Related Laws
Professional Ethics and Related Laws tests the midwife's legal scope, consent, confidentiality, documentation, mandatory reporting, and accountability under Philippine law and professional regulation.
Core rules
- RA 7392, the Philippine Midwifery Act of 1992, defines midwifery practice and its limits; midwives care for normal pregnancy, labor, delivery, postpartum, and the newborn within their competence and refer when risk exceeds scope.
- Informed consent requires capacity, disclosure of risks and alternatives, understanding, and voluntariness; emergency care follows the doctrine of necessity.
- Confidentiality protects patient information; disclosure is permitted only with consent or when required by law, such as reportable diseases, child abuse, or violence against women and children.
- Documentation must be timely, factual, and complete; alterations must be transparent. Poor records weaken defense and endanger continuity of care.
- Negligence requires duty, breach, causation, and damage. Mandatory reporting laws include RA 7610 for child abuse and RA 9262 for violence against women and their children.
Worked example
A midwife posts a photo of a patient in labor on social media with the caption identifying the barangay. Even without the patient's name, the combination of place, time, and clinical detail can identify her. This is a confidentiality breach and a professional conduct issue. The correct response is to remove the post, apologize, document the incident, and report through the proper channel.
Traps
Do not assume verbal consent covers every procedure. Do not practice beyond RA 7392 scope because a colleague asks you to. Do not alter records after an adverse event. Do not disclose HIV status or pregnancy details to relatives without authorization.