[Nurses' perception of their work vis-a-vis patients' rights]

This exploratory-descriptive survey was carried out with a sample consisting of 73 nurses from two hospitals in order to know the perception they have of their work via-a-vis patients' rights and develop an instrument capable of measuring such perception. Four constructs referring to the nurses' performance via-a-vis patients' rights were identified and validated, based on questions the nurses answered: preservation of individuality; respect for the patient's autonomy; personal identification; and information for decision-taking. Preservation of individuality was the construct with the best performance. Respect for the patient's autonomy and personal identification appear in an intermediate level, whereas the construct information for decision-taking was the least used. In general, preservation of individuality and respect for the patient's autonomy are the constructs that influenced the most nurses' perception on patients' rights.