Conceptions of nurses on the management of care in an emergency service : descriptive-exploratory study

Abstract

Objective: To analyze the conceptions of nurses in a hospital emergency service on care management. exploratory-descriptive study with qualitative approach carried out with nurses of the Emergency Department of a university hospital in southern Brazil. Data were collected through semi structured interviews between June and September 2009 and analyzed using thematic analysis. Results: of care management were evidenced: management as organization and optimization of working in emergency; management as an instrument for the best practices of care; and management of the nursing staff. Conclusion: nurses' conceptions express the complementarity between the management and care dimensions, which enhance the role of a nurse and enable the smooth progress of work in the unit, setting priorities for care and developing strategies to overcome the present difficulties in the daily work in the emergency department.