PATIENT SAFETY IN NURSING EDUCATION IN GOIÁS

A DOCUMENTARY STUDY

Abstract

Introduction: Patient safety is a priority in public health policies and must be integrated into the education of Nursing professionals. Objective: To analyze the presence of disciplines or content related to patient safety in the curricula of undergraduate Nursing courses in the state of Goiás, Brazil. Method: This is a descriptive, exploratory, documentary study conducted in January 2025. It used data from the Ministry of Education's Electronic System for the Regulation of Higher Education (e-MEC) and public information obtained from the websites of Higher Education Institutions (HEI) offering in-person Nursing programs in Goiás. Course Pedagogical Projects (PPC), curricular matrices, and available syllabi were analyzed. The data were organized in an electronic spreadsheet and descriptive statistical analysis was performed, calculating absolute and percentage frequencies. Results: Fifty-seven HEI offering Nursing courses in Goiás were identified, most of which were private for-profit institutions (74%). Of these, 43 (75.4%) had curricular documents available on their websites. Patient safety was identified in 16 (28%) courses, most of which (81%) were mandatory courses. Variations in course load and approach to the identified content were observed. Conclusion: The analysis revealed low systematic inclusion of the topic in the curricula. This finding may affect the training of professionals prepared for safe practices. We recommend conducting further studies to expand the participation of Brazilian states and revising the PPC, including the topic in curricula, in alignment with the National Curricular Guidelines, the National Patient Safety Program, and the demands of the national health system (SUS) is. The public availability of curricular documents by HEI is a strategy for monitoring and evaluating the training of the country's healthcare workforce and should be encouraged.