OBJECTIVE: to identify the needs of nursing students in the field of relational competencies. METHOD: qualitative study with an exploratory-descriptive nature. The random sample included 62 students in the 2nd year of the nursing undergraduate program of a school located in the central region of Portugal. The inclusion criterion was the nonexistence of clinical teaching. Data were collected through a form designed to assess relational needs; content analysis was used to analyze data. RESULTS: the results indicated that the students' concept of nursing care at this stage of their education is focused on the performance of nursing tasks and techniques instead of on scientific knowledge. Overall, they are aware that greater personal development and better self-knowledge are determinant for their personal and social well-being and for them to become good professionals. CONCLUSION: these results will support the improvement of an intervention program to be developed with these students.

OBJECTIVE: to validate the Nursing Intervention Classifications (NIC) for the diagnosis 'Risk of Impaired Skin Integrity' in patients at risk of pressure ulcers (PU). METHOD: the sample comprised 16 expert nurses. The data was collected with an instrument about the interventions and their definitions were scored on a Likert scale by the experts. The data was analyzed statistically, using the calculation of weighted averages (WA). The study was approved by the Research Ethics Committee (56/2010). RESULTS: nine interventions were validated as 'priority' (WA =0.80), among them Prevention of PU (MP=0.92); 22 as 'suggested' (WA >0.50 and <0.80) and 20 were discarded (WA =0.50). CONCLUSIONS: the prevention of PU results from the implementation of specific interventions related to the risk factors for development of the lesion, with implications for nursing practice, teaching and research.

PURPOSE: This study has described and analysed the functional independence of the patients served in the haemodialysis services of a countryside town in the State of São Paulo, Brazil, using the Functional Independence Measure (FIM). METHOD: The population considered was that of 214 patients being treated with haemodialysis, assessed in 2011, by means of a social, demographic and clinical report, a Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and also the FIM. RESULTS: The mean age of the population under study was 58.01 years, while the mean FIM point score was 118.38 points, showing a level of complete or modified independence within this population. Even though the level of dependence found has been low, this can be highlighted, within the locomotion domain, in the activity of going up and down stairs (10.28%). Age, complications arising from haemodialysis, and comorbidities show a negative correlation with FIM. CONCLUSION: Awareness of the level of functional independence of the patients being subjected to treatment with haemodialysis is essential in order to back up intervention for the improvement of nursing assistance provided to this population.

OBJECTIVE: To assess attitudes and the influence of emotional intelligence is the objective of this work. METHOD: Nursing professionals answered a questionnaire that assessed the attitude towards suicide and emotional intelligence. RESULTS: The results show a general adverse attitude towards suicidal behavior. The moral dimension of suicide makes the differences between mental health and emergency professionals. CONCLUSIONS: Possessing a higher degree of mental health training and a high level of emotional intelligence is associated with a more positive attitude towards patients with suicidal behavior. The formation and development of emotional skills are essential for care delivery to patients with suicidal behavior.

The study objectives were to characterize the profile of the doctors and nurses caring for patients in the craniotomy postoperative period, checking pain assessment methods and to identify the existence of analgesia protocols. Cross-sectional and analytical study. The casuistry is constituted of 30 doctors and 30 nurses. The results revealed that 83.3 % of the nurses were female, 63.3% knew pain scales, and 16.6% said that analgesia protocols exist. Regarding doctors 60% were male, 70% knew the pain scales, 3.3% had specialization in pain treatment, 13.3% they stated that there are analgesia protocols. The ignorance on the part of doctors and nurses about the assessment scales and pain assessment methods reveals the need for the creation of institutional policies on controlling pain, the use of instruments for the measurement of the pain phenomenon and analgesia protocols in the institution.

AIMS: to compare the performance of undergraduate students concerning semi-implanted central venous catheter dressing in a simulator, with the assistance of a tutor or of a self-learning tutorial. METHOD: Randomized controlled trial. The sample consisted of 35 undergraduate nursing students, who were divided into two groups after attending an open dialogue presentation class and watching a video. One group undertook the procedure practice with a tutor and the other with the assistance of a self-learning tutorial. RESULTS: in relation to cognitive knowledge, the two groups had lower performance in the pre-test than in the post-test. The group that received assistance from a tutor performed better in the practical assessment. CONCLUSION: the simulation undertaken with the assistance of a tutor showed to be the most effective learning strategy when compared to the simulation using a self-learning tutorial. Advances in nursing simulation technology are of upmost importance and the role of the tutor in the learning process should be highlighted, taking into consideration the role this professional plays in knowledge acquisition and in the development of critical-reflexive thoughts and attitudes. (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT 01614314).

OBJECTIVE: to validate the content of persuasive messages for promoting walking among patients with coronary heart disease (CHD). The messages were constructed to strengthen or change patients' attitudes to walking. METHOD: the selection of persuasive arguments was based on behavioral beliefs (determinants of attitude) related to walking. The messages were constructed based in the Elaboration Likelihood Model and were submitted to content validation. RESULTS: the data was analyzed with the content validity index and by the importance which the patients attributed to the messages' persuasive arguments. Positive behavioral beliefs (i.e. positive and negative reinforcement) and self-efficacy were the appeals which the patients considered important. The messages with validation evidence will be tested in an intervention study for the promotion of the practice of physical activity among patients with CHD.

OBJECTIVE: to assess the predictive validity of the Manchester Triage System implemented in a municipal hospital in Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil. METHOD: cohort prospective and analytical study. The sample of 300 patients was stratified by color groups. The outcome measured was the scores, obtained by patients in each classification group in the Therapeutic Intervention Scoring System - 28, 24 hours after admission to the emergency department. RESULTS: A total of 172 (57%) patients were men and the average age of all patients was 57.3 years old. The median score concerning the severity of their conditions was 6.5 points in the yellow group, 11.5 in the orange group, and 22 points in the red group. Statistically significant differences were found among the three groups (p<0.001). CONCLUSION: the data confirm that the conditions of patients within the color groups progressed at different levels of severity.

OBJECTIVE: To identify associations between high-stress and burnout syndrome in multidisciplinary residents from a federal university in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. METHOD: This is an analytical, cross-sectional and quantitative study. A socio-demographic questionnaire, the Work Stress Scale and the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Health Services Survey (MBI-HSS) were applied to 37 residents between April and June 2011. P-values<0.05 were considered statistically significant. RESULTS: We verified that 48.65% of the residents experienced high-stress. When associating the MBI-HSS subscales, we verified that 27% of the residents showed some indication of burnout syndrome. There was a statistically significant correlation (p=0.00, r=0.68) between a high-stress and burnout. CONCLUSIONS: High-stress was confirmed as being a predictor of burnout syndrome among multidisciplinary residents. Therefore, we propose that intervention studies be conducted in order to change such contexts.

OBJECTIVES: to describe and analyze the centrality, the mute zone and the attitudes expressed in nurses' social representations of people with Human Immunodeficiency Virus. METHOD: the subjects were 30 nurses from a university hospital in Rio de Janeiro. The data was collected using a Likert scale. RESULTS: the data pointed to a process of representational change regarding Human Immunodeficiency Virus / Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome, with the assumption of a more positive attitude regarding living with this health issue. The hypothesis of the existence of a mute zone in the representation, comprising elements with a contranormative character, was strengthened. CONCLUSION: the influence of the dynamics of social normativity on how the social representations studied are expressed may contribute to a better understanding of its structuring process. It also helps in the analysis of possible gaps among the nurses' discourses and practices in relation to Human Immunodeficiency Virus / Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome.

OBJECTIVE: to evaluate the average resulting area from the Pressure x Time curves resulting from the manometric anorectal exam and compare it with the support capacity of voluntary squeeze. Materials and METHODS: the data set was represented by data from 11 exams from continent patients and eight exams from patients with grade III fecal incontinence. The manometric curves were delineated, and the areas and support capacity of voluntary squeeze calculated, by means of the R computer language and the algorithm developed. RESULTS: the resulting averages for support capacity of voluntary squeeze in continent patients and patients with grade III fecal incontinence were 33.07 seconds and 30.76 seconds (p>0.05) and the averages for area were 2362.04 mmHg x second and 947.92 mmHg x second (p<0.05), respectively. CONCLUSION: the average resulting area is able to differentiate continent patients from incontinent and is shown to be a possible parameter in the analysis of biomechanical behavior related to the mechanisms of anorectal continence.