Characterization of professional conduct proceedings involving nursing personnel
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.36517/2175-6783.20262796140Keywords:
Nursing; Ethics, Professional; Ethics, Nursing; Liability, Legal; Professional Review Organizations.Abstract
Objective: to characterize professional conduct proceedings involving nursing personnel, as adjudicated by a professional council. Methods: cross-sectional descriptive study. We analyzed 178 professional conduct proceedings using descriptive statistics (absolute and relative frequencies) to describe the study variables. Results: the main complainants were nurses (33%) and the professional council (20%); nursing technicians were most often the respondents (45%). Adverse events were the leading complaint topic (36%). Case dismissal was the most frequent outcome (44%), followed by verbal warning (31%). Articles 24 and 45 were most frequently violated, and 76% of cases were processed within 1–2 years. Conclusion: the proceedings analyzed suggest the violations reflect training-related and institutional determinants, underscoring the phenomenon’s complexity. It is essential to strengthen error-prevention and patient safety initiatives to reduce harm. Contributions to practice: the findings reinforce the relevance of professional ethics education and support continuing education strategies in nursing.
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The authors state that the dataset supporting the findings is available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Rafaela Serpa, Dulcinéia Ghizoni Schneider, Denise Elvira Pires de Pires, Silvana Alves Benedet Ofugi Rodrigues, Laura Cavalcanti de Farias Brehmer , Felipa Rafaela Amadigi
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