Normative grounds of health care practice in Brazilian nursing.

Objective:: to understand the normative grounds of health care practice in Brazilian nursing.

Method:: qualitative study with the use of document research, carried out based on resolutions of the Federal Nursing Council. From a total of 263 resolutions, in the period from 1975 to 2015, 38 which were in accordance with the objective of the study were selected.

Results:: three analytical categories were systematized: Normative grounds of health care practice by the nursing team, under coordination/supervision of the nurse; Normative grounds of the care performed privately by the nurse; and Management and administrative aspects which affect and permeate the practice of health care in nursing.

Conclusion:: the set of normative grounds of health care practice by the nursing team leads to the reflection on the possible overlapping of attributions between professional levels and requires expansion to the other fields of nursing which are coherent with the health care network model.