[The nurse in mental health outpatient clinics]

This study emerged from the preoccupation to evaluate the learning needs of psychiatric nurses working in an ambulatory of Mental Health. We verified the type of education they had, the actions they performed and the difficulties and facilities they found in the development of nursing interventions. It was also examined whether these actions are in conformity to the ones prerecognized by the literature or not. The data analysis showed that the majority of the actions are performed by nurses in distinct manners in 6 ambulatories. We perceived, in some events, the "function deviation" in nursing activities of nurse and the nursing team.