The aim of this study was to describe the primary norms and instructions for the first civil service exam for nurses administered by the Administrative Department of Public Service. This is a descriptive and historical-documentary study. Sources included publications about the event in the Diário Oficial da União, Brazil's Federal Official Gazette. Analysis and construction of results adhered to the sequence of presentation of norms and instructions of the process. Three were decrees that regulated the first civil service exam: two were generalized (n. 661 and n. 1411) and one was specialized (n. 1360). The specific instructions contained in the specialized decree were highlighted, and distributed in three chapters: I-Conditions; II-Exams; and III-Evaluations. In the Vargas Era, a substantial number of public servant positions for nurses were filled by way of public civil service exams administrated by the Administrative Department of Public Service, underpinned by rigorous normative structure, and translated into detailed selection criteria.
History of nursing; Personnel selection; Public administration