EDITORIAL
Nursing care and its transversality: complex patients and technologies in a hospital environment
Isaura Setenta Porto
Doutora em Enfermagem, Pesquisadora do Núcleo de Pesquisa em Enfermagem Hospitalar e Professora Adjunta do Departamento de Enfermagem Médico-Cirúrgica da Escola de Enfermagem Anna Nery da UFRJ. Bolsista de Produtividade em Pesquisa do CNPq.
This thematic number allows a process of reflection and analysis about the intensive care in nursing, performed in a hospital environment for patients with health deviations of high complexity. The nursing intensive care, also seen as critical care of the nurse, normally articulates to the hard technologies, denominated by the use of devices and equipment in a hospital environment, usually the specific units for patients with severe health conditions and even at risk of death. Therefore, the intensive care has occurred at intensive care units overall, for customers with clinical and / or surgical health deviations or centers of specialized intensive care units, characterized by accepting patients classified by their life cycle, such as in neonatal intensive care units, but also supported by the classification of patients in pathologies, for example, in coronary units.
The intensive care when focused in the care of inpatients shows an operational nature, as it implies in actions and acts of care as well as nursing interventions and therapies. However this is part of a global view of nursing care at hospital, seen as a theoretical category. And from this point of view, the care is like cement that underpins nursing or even a transversality leading the uniqueness of the profession, whether in the fields of care, teaching and / or research. The argument for this assertion is located in the development of nursing care, which is based on careful, direct or indirect in relation to the clientele; in nursing education, which focuses on educational activities in order for future care professionals learn to take care of customers; and, in nursing research, that can consider the care from a far or near perspective, when deals with the public health policies and / or the health system, focuses on aspects of care, investigates educational aspects and also focuses on the research itself. All of them have the nursing care somewhat evident.
Thus, the nursing care as central theoretical category of Hospital Nursing complement with two additional categories: 1) the hospital scenarios environment, where the care takes place and, therefore, with its specific and own facilities, devices, equipment and materials, as well as health professionals and nursing, and patients and their families; 2) The mediator points of nursing care, responsible for implementing this care when offered by the professionals who care for and, when accepted by patients who receive this care. But the care considered as a theoretical category, is also evident through its elements in a scheme of nursing care at a hospital. These elements are linked to nursing professionals and patients, and their families. And, other elements called essential, without them the care no longer occurs.
The environment categories and the care elements are also applicable to articles available in this thematic issue. The elements of nursing care are numerous. However, this issue from Escola Anna Nery Nursing Magazine has the articles distributed as follow: (1) elements linked to the professionals in nursing, which are: working conditions, knowledge / training, care management and the relation between care and professional; (2) elements related to patients and their families, to verify: hospitalization and disease process, and (3) essential elements in care, such as: observation as a basic instrument for caring, nursing and health technology, nursing process, health education, relation between nurse - patient, and verbal and nonverbal communication. Reading these articles will certainly contribute to the expansion of reflections on the professional practice, the reasons for actions and acts of care and the development of interventions and therapeutic nursing.
Publication Dates
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Publication in this collection
14 Dec 2012 -
Date of issue
Dec 2012
