[Absenteeism of nursing workers in a school hospital]

Absenteeism in the nursing team worries the institutions' managers, because they reflect on the human resources quantitative aspects, interfering in the quality of healthcare provided to the clientele. This descriptive, retrospective study identified the percentage and the types of expected and non-expected absences of nursing workers in a school hospital, between April, 2001 and March, 2002. Data were collected by consultating the schedules and the monthly attendance reports in the Human Resources Center. Expected absences reached 40% for weekly days off, 3.9% for holidays and 9% for vacations. The percentage of non-expected absences for the nursing category varied from 0 to 46.3%, predominantly due to maternity leaves and occupational accidents. For nursing technicians and auxiliaries, percentages varied from 0.5% to 11.6%. In this case, the absences were due to sick and medical leaves approved by the National Institute of Social Security.