Nurses are responsible for ongoing care, direct assistance and patient safety
Nurses’ Day is celebrated on May 12, coinciding with International Nursing Day. The profession acts as the backbone of the Brazilian healthcare system and plays a role as essential in the care and safety of patients as that of doctors.
Responsible for continuous care, direct assistance and patient safety, nurses, technicians and assistants today represent the largest healthcare workforce in the country. According to the most recent data from the Federal Nursing Council (Cofen), Brazil has almost 3 million professionals in the field, around 27.5% of whom are nurses.
The category operates at all levels of health care, from the Family Health Strategy (ESF) to neonatal ICUs, from surgical from high complexity to palliative care, from vaccination to hospital and home care. The breadth of this activity is also reflected in the more than 60 specialties currently recognized by Cofen, highlighting the diversity and complexity of the profession.
The survey “Demography and the Nursing Job Market in Brazil”, launched in 2025 by the Ministry of Health, shows that the category represents around 70% of the health workforce in the country. The survey also reinforced the need to expand public and private investments, in addition to creating policies aimed at strengthening, professional development and improving working conditions in the category.
Main challenges in the category
Despite the importance, the challenges faced by nursing are still significant. According to Pollyana Estephanelli, Nursing professor at Afya Centro Universitário Itaperuna, exhausting working hours, overload and inadequate working conditions are still part of the reality of many professionals. “Nursing works continuously, accompanying the patient at all stages of care, which requires constant attention, quick decision-making and high physical and emotional exhaustion”, he explains.
The Covid-19 pandemic further highlighted the essential role of nursing in healthcare, but also increased cases of physical and mental exhaustion among professionals. “During the pandemic, nursing professionals remained on the front line from the very beginning, often faced with scenarios of uncertainty, scarcity of resources and a high number of deaths”, says Pollyana Estephanelli. According to her, this scenario contributed to the increase in cases of anxiety, occupational stress and burnout a category.
Even so, nursing professionals remain a fundamental part of the health system, acting indispensably in the prevention, treatment and recovery of patients. “Defending better conditions for nursing is not just defending a professional category. It is defending the quality of health care and the safety of the population served”, he highlights.
Although they are often associated with the functions medicalsome duties are exclusive to nursing and are a direct part of the category’s care routine, such as:
- Perform dressings and conduct wound treatment: includes everything from simple injuries to more complex cases, with a choice of appropriate techniques and coverage;
- Coordinate and supervise the assistance team: is responsible for organizing the work of technicians and assistants, ensuring the quality of service;
- Record and monitor the clinical evolution of patients: performs ongoing monitoring, documents changes in the condition, and adjusts the care plan as needed;
- Perform essential technical procedures: probes, punctures, medication administration and other fundamental procedures in day-to-day care.
By Beatriz Felicio