[Financial investment in human resources: an experience at a hospital]

This study aimed to investigate the financial amount a large school hospital invested in training programs. Seven training programs for the hospital staff were analyzed by means of the absorption costing system, totaling 307 training sessions in 1999. Data analysis showed that, during that year, a total of R$ 225,493.84 was invested, that is, R$ 27.41 per worker. There are no data on other Brazilian hospitals to compare this figure. However, if this is compared with the annual worldwide average of US$ 252 per capita, the mean value is 9.2 times less than world average. This figure corresponds to 0.32% of the payment roll, while the world average is 2.7%. This study points towards the importance for Permanent Education Centers to understand the costs of training programs as well as for hospital organizations to create a formal policy for investment in these programs.