[Nursing ethics committees at health institutions in Ribeirao Preto]

The aim of this study was to identify hospitals in Ribeirão Preto, Brazil which have a Nursing Ethics Committee established according to the Decision of the Nursing Regional Council, to examine their activities and attributions, the reasons why they were created and the enforcement of legislation. The results have shown that from the eleven hospitals visited, eight ought to have instituted their Committees; however, only three had done it and only one of them was effectively active. The study made it possible to identify the most frequent infractions to ethics as well as the penalties occasionally inflicted and evidenced the unpreparedness of Nursing professionals as to their attitudes concerning Committees.