[Nursing attendants: why? How long?]

Qualification for nursing professionals is important for they deal with lives that need qualified care. This study aims at analysing health professionals opinions about nursing attendants. It was accomplished between March and July, 1997. Nurses, physicians, nursing aids and technicians at public and philanthropic hospitals in Fortaleza--CE were interviewed. The outcomes show that nursing attendants, most times, perform the same procedures as the nursing aids and may interfere with the provided service quality and cause iatrogenics; others consider them as important at institutions for their practice; some others express themselves completely against the non-qualified professionalization process; anothers express themselves for this process, but disagree on how it is accomplished for they do not perceive any change in their professional profile after being qualified. We do understand that this question is deserving of immediate attitudes for it is related to nursing principal subject: Caring.