CARE OF “THE WE” AS PROCESSED IN THE RELATIONSHIPS/INTERACTIONS ESTABLISHED BY NURSING AND HEALTH PROFESSIONALS

Abstract

This study aimed to understand how care of “the we” is processed in the human relationships and interactions established by nursing and health professionals in a university hospital in the South of Brazil. The results revealed one category and four subcategories that represented the strategies adopted by these professionals, a component of the paradigmatic model, according to grounded theory. Data were collected in four sample groupsby conducting semi-structured interviews with a total of 25 participants between March and July 2011. Specifically, the subcategories were: care of “the we” is relational and procedural; how care of “the we”is processed in the working environment; how care of “the we” is associated with collective care; and signifying relationships and interactions involved in the process of caring for patients and families. Care of “the we” is processed broadly and complexly in the relationships and interactions established among professionals and between professionals and patients and family members.

Keywords

• Nursing
• Interpersonal relations
• Working environment