O trabalho em radioterapia

: profissionais, práticas e dinâmicas

Abstract

The general goal of this research was to contribute to deepen the knowledge about the activity developed in radiotherapy’s field. The attempt was, particularly, to understand and analyze the organisational structure of a radiotherapy unit and the dynamics of its professionals, how they assess their working conditions and also know how they manage, individually and collectively, the obligations and available resources, in order to meet security standards. This research, qualitative in its nature, counted with the participation of eight workers in the radiotherapy’s field, who belonged to an organisation providing medical services both in the public and private sectors. In order to achieve the research goals, semi-structured interviews were performed within the participants working environment. This investigation allowed us to corroborate the results of previous studies, particularly those developed throughout the last decade in France, and contributed to the construction of knowledge about the actual activity of these professionals. We have come to the conclusion that, in this specific area, the relationship between the prescribed work and real work is strongly mediated by unforeseen events, dilemmas and by existing resources. It became notorious that team work is central to this activity, in particular, the possibility of discussing dilemmas, validating options and recognizing this as a determinant factor to the quality of the service. On what concerns the efficacy of the performed treatments and the maintenance of security levels, there positive correlation. The workers themselves perceive the safety and quality of the healthcare service they provide.

Date of Award	24 Jul 2014
Original language	Portuguese
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Joana Fernandes (Supervisor) & Liliana Maria da Silva Cunha (Co-Supervisor)