PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE LAWS AND NURSING CODES OF ETHICS IN SOUTH AMERICA

Abstract

Introduction: Nursing from its beginnings to the present has undergone great changes that
favored the growth and recognition of the profession. Laws are a crucial part of this growth,
since from them the competencies of nursing professionals are recognized. When analyzing
the same from different countries, it is possible to identify the contributions that each one
offers in terms of differences, similarities and specific articles that are not replicated in the
peer countries, which is why the objective pursued by this research was to know the laws and
codes of ethics that regulate professional practice in each of the 10 countries belonging to South
America. Methodology: A systematic review of the laws that regulate the professional practice
and codes of ethics in nursing was carried out, the countries were selected according to the
interest of this research: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru,
Uruguay and Venezuela. The data obtained in this review were dumped into a matrix table which
was divided according to the data of interest of this research based on the specific objectives.
Results and discussion: It is highlighted that all countries have their own code of ethics or
adhere to international codes, in turn all have laws that regulate professional practice that were
sanctioned in different years, the first country to sanction a The law that regulates the practice
of nursing was Bolivia in 1978, while the last was Uruguay in 2011. Among the differences, it
was found that Brazil has a section in its law that authorizes nursing professionals to prescribe
medications that are find authorized. In countries such as Bolivia, Colombia and Ecuador it is
mandatory to perform social service in the most vulnerable areas. Conclusions: The regulation
of nursing is of the utmost importance in any part of the world, since from the laws, norms and
codes of ethics, a better quality of care can be ensured for the entire population. Taking into
account the current world context, some of the countries investigated require updating their
legislation to current requirements.