ANALYSIS OF THE NURSING SERVICE IN THE PROCESS OF HOSPITAL STRATEGIC PLANNING

Strategic Planning (SP) has been used in hospitals to improve competitiveness and with effect on a wide range of work activities and business processes. Nursing service represents the largest number part of hospital staffs. It is responsible for ongoing and comprehensive support for patients and is closely related with results of SP application. This paper analyzes the performance of the body of nurses in the process of implementing Strategic Planning (SP) in one of the large hospitals in Porto Alegre (Hospital Sao Lucas, PUCRS) and is based upon the perception of nursing service managers. This is an exploratory and descriptive study, with quantitative and qualitative results, conducted through interviews with 22 managers in the field of nursing. Results of the survey provide an analysis of the nurses' involvement in implementing SP in the institution, where they identified critical activities of the process and contributed to the management practice of hospital organizations.