Study with the aim to classify patients in accordance with the degree of dependence on nursing care, estimate the size of the nursing staff and correlate instruments. Perroca and Fugulin's instruments were used to classify patients admitted for a period of 30 days and to estimate the size of the nursing staff, the formula recommended by the Federal Nursing Board COFEN No. 293/0 was used. Included were 157 patients, 42.0% were classified as dependent on intermediate care, and for 50.3% of patients, the degree of dependence was classified as minimum care. Regarding the size of the nursing staff, the existing staff in the surveyed unit consisted of 20 employees, while the necessary size should be 32 employees, divided in the four shifts. The instruments showed a strong correlation (rp=0.88). It is believed that the classification of patients in order to estimate the size of the nursing team can provide more quality to care.
Nursing; Nursing care; Classification; Time management; Personnel downsizing
