Do conhecimento ao saber

Abstract

This report results as the final document of the trajectory which started when we joined the 4th Post-graduate Course in Medical-Surgical Nursing, at Universidade Católica do Porto, in the academic year 2010/2011. In the course of this work, our intention is to summarize the experiences that this training period provided us with, giving visibility to the internship curriculum unit, because of its importance in acqui ring skills in the area of Medical -Surgical Nursing, and on the approach to the adult or elderly person patient in a critical condition. In this sense, the internship workplaces that have allowed us to develop these skills, in the field, were: the Intensive Polyvalent Care Unit (UCIP-Hospital de Braga) and the Intermediate Care Unit of Cardiology (UCIC-Hospital de Braga). In addition to ful filling an evaluative requi rement, the drafting of this document aims, in general, to highlight the critical-reflexive analysis underlying the activities that we have realized, illustrating the skills we acqui red, according to the Specialist Nurse perspective. The methodology we used in the composition of this document is descriptive and analytical, which makes it easier to understand the route we have traveled, contextualizing its analysis. Structurally, this work is divided into three parts. As a first step, we make an introduction, where it is explained the way this report fits into the framework of the course, and then we proceed to provide a brief description of the internship locations and a justification for the selection of the studied fields, as well as the rationale for crediting on the urgency area. In the course of the document, we describe the learning situations we have faced, highlighting the activities we carried out in order to acqui re the skills inherent to the specialist nurse in medical -surgical nursing. In order to provide a more interesting reading, we subdivided the body of the work into the four areas of common competence of the specialist nurse: the Legal, Ethical and Professional Responsibility; the Continuous Improvement of Quality; the Management of Care and the Development of Professional Learning. We enumerate the skills we have acqui red, describing the activities that led to thei r achievement, referring to all of these areas. Finally, we draw a conclusive note, where we make a retrospective analysis of the main learnings, of the contingencies that signalized our route, and of the marks that this training period engraved in our personal and professional development. We discuss also the contributions that we have made to the services in which we have done work, and we draw some inferences on the implications of an increased training in improving the care provided to the population, and on its contribution to the development of nursing in general.

Date of Award	2013
Original language	Portuguese
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Patrícia Coelho (Supervisor)