RESUMEN
.Health care system could not function efficiently, if nurses were not present to perform their part. Nurses do their work responsibly and passionately to serve the mankind and the needy ones. Sense of responsibility makes a person more accountable to their duty, while the knowledge of the rights gives personal security and confidence. It is essential for the nurses to be well aware of their rights and responsibilities to provide comprehensive care to the patients. A cross-sectional survey was carried out at AIIMS, New Delhi, to assess nurses'#39; knowledge regarding rights and responsibilities. Convenient sampling was used to select 210 samples from ICU, ward, OPD, OT and emergency department. Structured knowledge questionnaire was used to collect the data. The study found that nurses had good knowledge regarding nurse'#39;s rights (mean score 27'plusmn;3.7). Similarly the nurses were well aware of their responsibilities with mean knowledge score of 15'plusmn;1.29. Knowledge regarding the rights of the nurses was significantly associated with age (p=0.034), educational qualification (p=0.018) and years of experience (p=0.003) whereas knowl- edge regarding the responsibility of the nurses was independent of socio-demographic variables; 65.7 percent of subjects had attended empowerment programmes. To conclude, nurses were well aware about their rights and responsibilities. Formal educational and empowerment programme are proved to be helpful in enhancing their knowledge. Therefore, the employers should plan an ongoing, appropriate empowerment programme for the nurses to keep them updated.