The self-care of nurses is a requirement for the care of the patient, so that the care provided will not imply on the resignation of the nursing professional or the client. The objective of the present study is to verify how the work of hospital nurses has been done, regarding the self-care of these professionals and the care provided to patients. Semi-structured interviews were carried out with nurses from two different districts in Rio Grande do Sul, who had graduated from public universities in the same state and worked in hospitals of the respective districts. Results showed that these professionals expressed the need of taking care of themselves in order to provide care for their patients. It was also reported that nurses assume responsibilities of other professionals and lack, in their professional environment, human and material resources. This situation generates negative consequences for the nurse's self-care, as well as for the care of the patients. It is important that nursing professionals implement strategies to deal with asymmetric power relations in the hospital, based on their beliefs, values and knowledge. This can lead to more appropriate conditions of work, which can guarantee a more qualified self-care of the professional, and a better care for the patient.
nursing work; self-care; ethic in nursing