Nursing Process as a potentializer of acupuncture practice^a

Abstract

Objective  To analyze the use of the Nursing Process in the practice of acupuncture, from 1997 to 2015.

Method  A qualitative, with a Social-Historical approach, through thematic oral history applied to 20 nurses specialized in acupuncture, based on Eliot Freidson's Sociology of Professions. From the thematic analysis, two categories were constructed: Nursing Process as an organizer of acupuncture practice; and Unawareness of the importance of the Nursing Process in acupuncture practice.

Results  The application of the Nursing Process in the nursing consultation, focusing on the practice of acupuncture as care and treatment, enables a differentiated performance, greater understanding and diagnostic recognition, more appropriate choice of techniques favorable to the quality and well-being of users, and consolidates its use as a specialized practice.

Final Considerations  The Nursing Process enables a technological advance applied in the nursing consultation, when implementing acupuncture as treatment and rehabilitation, collaborating in the evolution and prognosis in the care, and a facilitating strategy for the acupuncturist nurse with the client.

Keywords:  Acupuncture; Nursing; Nursing process; History of Nursing; Specialization