RESUMO
Through an historical analysis of the hospital organization as well as of nursing practice in the bureaucratic context of hospitals, authors found that the studied institution delegates to nurses several management functions, mainly bureaucratic ones. This was verified through empirical data about nurse's role in the units, demonstrating that, among her functions, the management ones are privileged in that institution. Results showed that in the hospital field, nurses can not avoid the management function, although there is an expectation of a different management role than the one normally found. Considering this factual dimension, authors also analyse the virtual dimension of this process, in order to investigate the expectations of the nursing personnel regarding nurses' behaviour as managers/leaders. Authors conclude the study demonstrating the importance of the conciliation of the factual-virtual duality in female nurse's management and leadership.