Ethics and patient safety in nursing education

Abstract

The goal of this study is to identify and describe disciplines in undergraduate nursing courses that address patient safety and health ethics. This is a documentary research focusing on politicalpedagogical projects and curriculum frameworks of higher education institutions that offer nursing
courses in the metropolitan area of Porto Alegre. Twelve documents were examined, from which two analytical topics emerged: 1) teaching of ethics, covering content such as professional ethics, bioethics and professional legislation in nursing; and 2) teaching of patient safety, covering content
such as biosafety, health education and communication, and infection control. The topic of ethics was predominantly mentioned compared to patient safety. New studies are needed to better understand how these concepts are being addressed in nursing education.