Impacts of neoliberalism on hospital nursing work

Abstract

This study aims to describe and analyze the implications of the neoliberal model in the dynamics of hospital work, in the view of the nursing workers. It is a qualitative, descriptive and exploratory research. The scenario is a teaching hospital, and the subjects are 17 nursing workers. The collection took place in July and August 2011, through a semi-structured interview. The data treatment technique was the content analysis. The results show that neoliberalism in hospital nursing work entails several negative impacts, which focus on the inappropriate distribution of material resources, as well as the heavy use of technologies in the process of care. There is also a high turnover of workers contracted due to low wages and precarious employment conditions. We conclude that the neoliberal model has both negative and positive effects. It is considered important to approach this subject in training courses of future nursing staff.