THE WORK ENVIRONMENT OF NURSES WHO PERFORM CARE ACTIVITIES IN A UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL

Abstract

The present study aimed to assess the work environment favorable to the professional practice of nurses in a public university hospital. Cross-sectional quantitative study with 60 care nurses using the Nursing Work Index – Revised questionnaire. The data were collected from November 2014 to January 2015. Also, 45 (75%) of the nurses who participated in the study satisfied with their work. All the 12 sectors of the institution favored the nursing practice in the following aspects: management support, autonomy and control of work processes, particular in Bone Marrow Transplant units and in the Infectious and Communicable Diseases unit, which, unlike the others, were specialized and had lower employee turnover. According to most respondents, the physician-nurse relationship was poor, unsatisfactory, and obtained low scores. It is concluded that knowledge of the characteristics that favor the exercise of professional nursing activities may broaden the discussion of strategies aimed to improve the nursing work.

Keywords

• Health institutions environment
• University hospitals
• Nursing
• Professional practice
• Work environment