Abstract:

Background:
The profession of nurse is governed both by parliamentary acts and regulations. Nurses are supposed to practise their profession basing on and within the provisions of law, particularly due to the fact that their activities concern human health and life. The knowledge of the appropriate relative standards among nurses with the right to practise the profession and continuing their education on a Master's degree course is unsatisfactory.

Aim of study:
The study aimed to assess the level of knowledge of legal acts regulating the profession of a nurse among the practising nurses who continue their education on a Master's degree course.

Materials and Methods:
The study enrolled a total of 68 second year Master's degree students in Nursing at Warsaw Medical University. The study was performed in May 2014. An original and non-standardised questionnaire comprising 42 close-ended questions was used as a research tool. More than one answer could have been provided to six questions. Descriptive statistics was used to analyse the collected data.

Results:
61 respondents said that they had got familiar with the content of legal provisions regulating the nursing profession. University classes constituted the source of knowledge of the regulations devoted to the nursing profession for 57 study participants. As many as 65 respondents believed that this kind of knowledge would be useful in their professional activity. On the other hand, as little as 55 persons knew that a nurse is an independent medical profession. Half of the study participants did not know that they are obligatorily members of professional self-government.

Conclusions:
1. Among the study group of practising nurses, the level of knowledge of legal regulations concerning the nursing profession is satisfactory.
2. The knowledge concerning the functioning of the professional self-government and rules of professional liability of nurses needs to be improved.
3. The level of legal conscience and knowledge of practising the profession needs to be improved through putting more emphasis on these issues during the Master's degree course as well as during the improvement courses.