[Nurses' role in the Family Health Program in Marília/SP]

The Family Health strategy presents itself as an alternative for overcoming the dominant paradigm in the health field. This study aims at identifying the work process of nurses in the Family Health Program (FHP) in the city of Marilia, in the State of São Paulo. The methodology used is based on the Theory of Praxic Intervention in Nursing in General Health proposed by Egry (1996). Every nurse who participated in the FHP in Marilia in 2001 was considered subject of the study. The data was collected through semi-structured interviews and direct observation of the nurses' work. The results show that nurses in the FHP are young and have little experience in basic health care. The work process developed by these professionals has as its object the individual body, is aimed at showing the patterns of stress of the social groups and makes use of methods and ordinary instruments of public health.