Background: Ethical behavior is an integral part of the care process and it is one of the needs in the nursing profession. The purpose of this research is to explore the components of ethical behavior of nurses. Therefore, identify the components and sub-component of ethical behavior of nurses with patients is the main issue in this research.

Method:  This study used a Mixed Exploratory. The statistical population was all nurses in public hospitals in Mashhad. Sample in the qualities part were 14 top nurses and in quantity section 176 experience nurses were selected. Data were collected by interview and questionnaires. Thematic content analysis was used for data analysis in quantitative part and then to assess the fit of the model in quantitative research, confirmatory factor analysis and AMOS software were used.

Results: The results of the interview analysis was abstracted in three main parts "conscious and compassionate care" , "sacrifice" and "reverence for the patient." and Each core part consists of several subcomponent. The results of the confirmatory factor analysis show that all components and sub-components were approved except the component of "patient education". The comparative fit index model (CFI) using the software AMOS was calculated 0/9, which indicates approval of the model and verifying the components and sub-components.

Conclusion: It can be concluded that in critical conditions, nurses will scarify their lives For caring patients. This suggests a high-level of sacrifice among nurses.