Introduction.

The participation of nurses in hospital bioethics committees is essential because of their role in patient care, which gives them a unique perspective in the analysis of cases. However, such participation has been little studied.

Objective.

To describe the participation of Argentine nursing professionals in hospital bioethics committees, as well as their sociodemographic and labor conditions and their educational trajectories.

Methodology.

A descriptive study was carried out that included nursing personnel belonging to hospital bioethics committees in second and third level health institutions in Argentina. A survey was sent by e-mail to these nurses. The survey was created based on the unesco guidelines, to survey the functioning of the committees and the educational background of the participants, and the Permanent Household Survey of the National Institute of Statistics and Census of the Argentine Republic, to collect socio-demographic and labor aspects. The survey consisted of 45 multiple-choice or short-answer questions and an open space for comments.

Results.

12 professionals responded. Most of them were women, with multiple jobs, in charge of care tasks in their homes and with postgraduate degrees. Not all of them have the support to attend the meetings, as their care work makes it difficult for them to attend and stay at the committees’ meetings. Most feel they are peers and their contributions are taken into account and reflected in the minutes. Some stated that there are still remnants of hierarchical treatment by senior members.

Conclusions.

It is necessary to continue working on improving the functioning of these committees and the training of nursing staff. The institutions should promote participation in the committees and ensure the necessary hours for attendance and permanence in the meetings.

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