South American legal perspective on professional nursing. 
This study involved a literature review aimed at describing the professional duties, stipulated in federal legislation, of nursing professionals in South America.  According to the federal legislation that regulates the professional nursing practice, nurses are supposed to apply their skills and knowledge in an autonomous and secure way.  Since it is through this legislation that professional competence of nurses is determined, the laws of each South American nation were consulted, to see how professional nursing functions differ according to each.  In general, according to the South American federal nursing legislations, professional nursing practice must be grounded in quality patient care and good nursing administration.