[Interaction and conflict among professional categories in public hospitals]

The article discusses some data from a study on the opinions and perceptions of the labor situation and environment among health professionals and administrative workers at the Research Center of the Evandro Chagas Hospital (CPqHEC/FIOCRUZ) in Rio de Janeiro. Certain patterns of conflict observed in the study express the distribution of power and prestige which is typical of hospitals. Many of the meanings people ascribe to their experiences within the organization are mediated by social representations originating in the broader social context to which the organization belongs.