Objective:To describe the workload of the nursing team and relate it with patient safety outcomes in clinical and surgical inpatient units of a university hospital. Method: Crosssectional study, carried out from October 2013 to September 2015. The factor under study was the workload, expressed as the ratio between the mean number of patients and the number of nursing professionals in 24 hours and in the day shifts. Results: The sample consisted of 157,481 patients, 502 nursing professionals and 264 observations of safety outcomes. The ratios of patients per nurse and per nursing technician in day shifts indicate a mean estimate of 14-15 and 5-6 patients per professional, respectively. There was a significant association between the workloads in the inpatient units and average length of stay, urinary infection related to invasive procedure and the satisfaction of patients with nursing care. Conclusion: The increase in the workload of the nursing team had an impact on quality of care and safety for patients. An adequate staffing promotes a safer care environment.

This study proposes an essay of issues involving human resources planning in nursing in the hospital sector in our current reality, discussing possible topics for future research. This is a retrospective of the evolution of research on determining the number of staff in Brazil, and the incorporation of new instruments to evaluate the work load based on the degree of dependency of the patients and actions in care. The impact of the quantity and quality of human resources on the results of care is discussed, and the role of leaders in adapting the staff composition, in order to supply safe, risk-free care to the patients and their families, seeking a management model for health practices from the perspective of complex care.

Objetivo: analisar o uso da hipodermóclise em pacientes com câncer em cuidados paliativos. Método: estudo transversal descritivo, com objetivo de descrever a experiência da utilização da hipodermóclise em pacientes sob cuidados paliativos, realizado em um hospital universitário do sul do Brasil. A amostra, por conveniência, abrangeu 80 pacientes que internaram em cuidados paliativos entre março/2014 e março/2015. A coleta de dados ocorreu mediante instrumento específico e a análise por estatística descritiva. Resultados: as neoplasias predominantes foram pâncreas 9(11,3%), intestino 8(10%), pulmão 8(10%) e gástrica 8(10%). Entre as indicações para hipodermóclise prevaleceram analgesia 63(78,8%), rede venosa precária 51(63,8%) e intolerância oral 38(47,5%). Dos 21 fármacos prescritos e administrados destacam-se morfina 76(95,0%), metoclopramida 49(61,3%), dipirona 39(48,8%), ondansetrona 29(36,3%) e dexametasona 12(15,0%). Ocorreram 105 punções e nenhuma complicação sistêmica. Considerações finais: a hipodermóclise mostrou-se uma terapêutica medicamentosa eficaz, segura e menos invasiva na prática clínica paliativista.

Introdução: A hipodermóclise é uma via de infusão em pacientes com câncer nos casos em que os acessos oral e endovenoso não estão disponíveis. Considerando a sua utilidade no controle dos sintomas no final de vida, faz-se importante ampliar o conhecimento e a divulgação das experiências quanto aos seus benefícios. Relato de caso: Trata-se de dois relatos de caso de pacientes com câncer, nos quais a hipodermóclise foi utilizada para administração de medicamentos. Conclusão: Essa prática apresentou-se como uma via segura, minimamente invasiva e eficaz no tratamento sintomático dos pacientes com câncer em cuidados paliativos.

Objective: to analyze the contradictions and ambiguities which permeate nurses' motivation for exercising leadership in management positions, in a university hospital. Method: this study has a qualitative approach and is exploratory and descriptive, and used a total of 33 semi-structured interviews which were submitted to thematic analysis. Results: the information converged on five categories: Motivation to take on a management position; The view of nursing managers on the exercising of leadership; The emblematic aspect of working with people; Leadership in nursing -mediatory and conciliatory; Time: a dilemma between managing and caring. Conclusion: leading people can be both a great encouragement, and an impeding aspect, bearing in mind the nuances of teamwork and the complexity of the context in which this process is constructed. In addition to this, conciliatory and mediatory attitudes are shown to be fundamental for a healthy and productive organizational atmosphere; however, the lack of time was indicated as a dilemma between managing and caring. the preservation of anonymity, and the right of free participation was assured, without this being able to lead to embarrassment or any prejudice to the participants. Results and DiscussionThe surveying, exploration and interpretation of the material resulted in five categories, described below.

Objective: to identify the complexity of the nursing care of inpatient surgical unit patients, using the Perroca patients classifi cation scale. Method: a descriptive, cross-sectional study with 546 reviews of 187 patients between October and December of 2012. Data were analyzed using SPSS 18.0 and the Kappa test, to measure interrater agreement. Results: a predominance of patients in the categories of semi-intensive (46.5%) and intermediate care (44.0%) was found, with a prevalence of unassisted bath (58.4%) in the total sample, and bed bath (69.3%) in the semi-intensive care patients. The level of agreement between two pairs of raters was considered good. Conclusion: the systematic application of the instrument was useful as a complementary measure of the level of patient dependence, and may contribute to the improvement of the working process, refl ecting on management decision-making with regard to nursing workload Key words: Personnel Administration, Hospital; Nursing Care; Workload. RESUMO Objetivo: identifi car a complexidade do cuidado de enfermagem dos pacientes em unidade de internação cirúrgica, utilizando a escala de classifi cação de pacientes de Perroca. Método: estudo transversal descritivo, com 546 avaliações de 187 pacientes, entre outubro e dezembro de 2012. Os dados foram analisados no programa SPSS 18.0 e teste Kappa, para medir a concordância interavaliadores. Resultados: constatou-se predomínio de pacientes nas categorias de cuidados semi-intensivo (46,5%) e intermediário (44,0%), com prevalência de banho sem auxílio (58,4%) no total da amostra e banho de leito (69,3%) entre os pacientes de cuidado semi-intensivo. O grau de concordância entre duas duplas de avaliadores foi considerado bom. Conclusão: a sistematização da aplicação do instrumento mostrou-se viável como medida de acompanhamento do grau de dependência dos pacientes, podendo contribuir para o aprimoramento do processo de trabalho, repercutindo na tomada de decisão gerencial quanto à carga de trabalho de enfermagem. Descritores: Administração de Recursos Humanos em Hospitais; Cuidados de Enfermagem; Carga de Trabalho. RESUMEN Objetivo: identifi car el tipo de la atención de enfermería de los pacientes en una unidad de internación quirúrgica, con la escala de clasifi cación de pacientes de Perroca. Método: estudio transversal, descriptivo, con 546 evaluaciones de 187 pacientes, entre octubre y diciembre de 2012. Los datos fueron analizados con el programa SPSS 18.0 y el test Kappa para medir la concordancia entre evaluadores. Resultados: se encontró un predominio de pacientes en las categorías de cuidados semi-intensivos (46,5%) e intermediarios (44,0%), con prevalencia de baño sin ayuda (58,4%) en el total de la muestra y baño en la cama (69,3%) entre los pacientes de cuidados semi-intensivos. El grado de concordancia entre dos pares de evaluadores se consideró bueno. Conclusión: la sistematización de la aplicación del instrumento demostró ser viable como una medida de acompañamiento del grado de dependencia de los pacie...

Objective: to describe the use of the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool to appraise and to strengthen the methodological rigor of mixed methods studies in nursing. Method: a theoretical essay was used to describe the application of Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool to support the development and assessment of mixed methods research in nursing. Four mixed methods articles in nursing were purposely chosen and evaluated based on the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool criteria. Results: Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool is a tool for evaluating primary mixed methods studies based on five evaluation criteria: 1) justification for adopting mixed methods methodology; 2) integration between the quantitative and qualitative components; 3) interpretation of integrated findings of quantitative and qualitative data; 4) presentation of divergences between quantitative and qualitative results; and 5) compliance with the methodological rigor of each individual approach in mixed methods research. Conclusion: Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool is an instrumental resource that can be used to appraise mixed methods research and strengthen the methodological rigor in planning and conducting future mixed studies in nursing research.

Summary Mortality and morbidity for high‐risk surgical patients are often high, especially in low‐resource settings. Enhanced peri‐operative care has the potential to reduce preventable deaths but must be designed to meet local needs. This before‐and‐after cohort study aimed to assess the effectiveness of a postoperative 48‐hour enhanced care pathway for high‐risk surgical patients (‘high‐risk surgical bundle’) who did not meet the criteria for elective admission to intensive care. The pathway comprised of six elements: risk identification and communication; adoption of a high‐risk post‐anaesthesia care unit discharge checklist; prompt nursing admission to ward; intensification of vital signs monitoring; troponin measurement; and prompt access to medical support if required. The primary outcome was in‐hospital mortality. Data describing 1189 patients from two groups, before and after implementation of the pathway, were compared. The usual care group comprised a retrospective cohort of high‐risk surgical patients between September 2015 and December 2016. The intervention group prospectively included high‐risk surgical patients from February 2019 to March 2020. Unadjusted mortality rate was 10.5% (78/746) for the usual care and 6.3% (28/443) for the intervention group. After adjustment, the intervention effect remained significant (RR 0.46 (95%CI 0.30–0.72). The high‐risk surgical bundle group received more rapid response team calls (24% vs. 12.6%; RR 0.63 [95%CI 0.49–0.80]) and surgical re‐interventions (18.9 vs. 7.5%; RR 0.41 [95%CI 0.30–0.59]). These data suggest that a clinical pathway based on enhanced surveillance for high‐risk surgical patients in a resource‐constrained setting could reduce in‐hospital mortality.