The authors carried out a research with collaboration of a nurses' group of an University Hospital. After elaboration of activities list by these nurses in their day's work, an instrument was elaborated to compute the expended time with those several activities. The data confirm the authors' perception about the existent contradictions between "formal teaching x professional practice". It intends, by means of literature's revision and reflections about the results, to point out some alternative solutions to resolve the evidented problems.