Objectives: To identify the administrative and nursing care activities most performed by nurses in clinical/surgical units and to determine which are most and least pleasant to them. Methods: A descriptiveexploratory field study, with a quantitative approach and with a sample made up of 40 nurses working in clinical/surgical units who answered a three-part questionnaire composed of identification data and characterization of the professional; a list of nursing and administrative activities for the nurse to grade according to the numbers: "0 = I do not perform it", "1 = I perform it occasionally", "2 = I perform it often", "3 = I perform it daily"; two open-ended questions, in which the nurse listed the activities he/she enjoyed the most and the least. results: The administrative activities most performed by the nurses were: changing work shifts, preparing employee daily task charts and managing tests; the most performed nursing care activities were related to the stages of the Nursing Care Systematization and the interaction with the multi-professional team; the most enjoyable activities were direct patient care, patient evaluation and implementation of the systematization; the least enjoyable activities were administrative and bureaucratic routines, justification of complaints/problem-solving and preparation of employee task charts. conclusion: Compared to administrative activities, nursing activities were performed most during the daily routine of the nurse, and the most enjoyable activities were those related to patient care, according to the opinions of the professionals.Keywords: Nursing service, hospital/organization & administration; Perioperative Nursing; Hospital care; Patient-centered care; Nurse's role reSUMO Objetivo: Identificar as atividades administrativas e assistenciais mais realizadas pelos enfermeiros nas clínicas médico-cirúrgicas e conhecer as mais e menos prazerosas para esses profissionais. Métodos: Pesquisa de campo descritivo-exploratória, com abordagem quantitativa, cuja amostra constituiu-se de 40 enfermeiros que trabalham em clínicas médico-cirúrgicas, os quais responderam a um questionário composto de três partes: dados de identificação e caracterização do profissional; relação de atividades assistenciais e administrativas para o enfermeiro, que deveria enumerar: "0 = não realizo", "1 = realizo eventualmente", "2 = realizo moderadamente", "3 = realizo diariamente"; duas questões semiabertas, nas quais o enfermeiro listou as atividades que lhe eram mais e menos prazerosas. resultados: As atividades administrativas mais realizadas pelos enfermeiros foram: passagem de plantão, escala diária e de tarefas de funcionários e gerenciamento de exames; as atividades assistenciais mais realizadas relacionavam-se às etapas da Sistematização da Assistência de Enfermagem e ao relacionamento com a equipe multiprofissional; as atividades mais prazerosas foram assistência direta ao paciente, avaliação do paciente e implementação da sistematização; as atividades menos prazerosas foram as rotin...