[The job of the hospital nurse: self-care and caring for others]. / O trabalho da enfermagem hospitalar: o cuidado de si e o cuidado do outro.

The self-care of nurses is a requirement for the care of the patient, so that the care provided will not imply on the resignation of the nursing professional or the client. The objective of the present study is to verify how the work of hospital nurses has been done, regarding the self-care of these professionals and the care provided to patients. Semi-structured interviews were carried out with nurses from two different districts in Rio Grande do Sul, who had graduated from public universities in the same state and worked in hospitals of the respective districts. Results showed that these professionals expressed the need of taking care of themselves in order to provide care for their patients. It was also reported that nurses assume responsibilities of other professionals and lack, in their professional environment, human and material resources. This situation generates negative consequences for the nurse's self-care, as well as for the care of the patients. It is important that nursing professionals implement strategies to deal with asymmetric power relations in the hospital, based on their beliefs, values and knowledge. This can lead to more appropriate conditions of work, which can guarantee a more qualified self-care of the professional, and a better care for the patient.

[Nursing work and the development of nursing workers' subjectivity]. / O trabalho da enfermagem e a produção da subjetividade de seus trabalhadores.

In order to approach the (im)possibilities of workers to present themselves as the subjects of their work, authors focussed on the role of work in the production of subjectivity, within capitalism, as well as the production of subjectivity in work relations and, especially, the production of nursing workers subjectivity. They emphasized that in the work of nurses and of other nursing professionals, it is possible to organize a creative work such as in the sequence of tasks that must be performed as well as in its process of execution and the initiative to perform them or not.

[Daily work problems and their relationship with self-care and care of others]. / Problemas no cotidiano do trabalho e sua relação com o cuidado de si e o cuidado do outro.

The authors analyse daily problems of the nurses' work and the coping strategies used, building knowledge about self care and care of the others in administrative spaces that emphasize freedom and autonomy, relating this (re)construction process to their health process Starting from semi-structured interviews with nurses of a University Hospital, it was possible to identify problems related to human and material resources, team relationship and nurses' own characteristics of subjectivity. There is a perception of greater freedom and autonomy related to administration, although the nurses perceive negative aspects about the boundaries of the freedom exercises, with commitment to the care of the other.

[Problems with the concept of health regarding patients' beliefs]. / Problematizando conceitos de Saúde, a partir do tema da governabilidade dos sujeitos.

To expand the understanding of health, an analysis of definitions by Horta (1979), by the VIII National Health Conference (1986) and by the World Health Organization (1946) was done. Similar elements of what was defined by Foucault as "pastoral power" were identified. Through Canguilhen and Dejours health definitions some subsidies are presented to allow a better understanding of health as a person's own subject, giving alternatives that will make possible a rupture on the "pastoral power".

[Self-knowledge as a possibility for transforming oneself and the collectivity]. / O conhecimento de si como possibilidade paraa transformação de si e do coletivo.

In order to encourage a discussion and a team reflection on the meaning of the nursing work in a surgical unit, and considering that nursing workers need to develop self knowledge as participants and constructors of a collective work, a practice, known as technique of the self, was implemented. The objective of this practice was to promote the individual's self knowledge and consequently transform the collectivity. The practice consisted of oral and individual presentations in which each participant talked about his/her perception of him/herself to the group. A written record showing the qualities and advice which could be attributed to each member of the nursing team was made. As these contributions were systematized, each participant received a set of perceptions from the group about him/herself. Such strategies have established opportunities for the dialogue, critical reflection, and closeness among the workers, as well as propitiated personal and team growth.

[Bioethics applied to nursing care]. / Bioética aplicada à assistência de enfermagem.

From the Foucault governability concept as a theme articulated to the concepts of authonomy, freedom and ethic, in this text, the author discusses the ethic conflict situations confrontation, which are presents in the nursing quotidian and specially in the nephrology nursing. The author defends the need of the nurse, in her practice, to decide to advocate in favor of the client rights.