ABSTRACT Objectives: to analyze the contents on patient safety in the training of nursing technicians. Methods: a documentary study, conducted in three technical nursing courses at a public university in northeastern Brazil, based on the Multi-Professional Patient Safety Curriculum Guide, published by the World Health Organization. Results: we found that, of the 26 subjects in each course, the tracking terms were found in 22 subjects in the A/C courses, 23 in the B course. The topics of the guide with the highest number of terms were the improvement in medication safety, with 85 terms (22.6%), and Infection prevention and control, with 75 terms (20%). The contents do not express the comprehensiveness of patient safety education; some subjects had this focus, while others did not. Conclusions: the documents revealed gaps in the contents related to patient safety and demonstrated that they are addressed only in the course syllabus and discipline plans.