[Discourse, institution, power: an analysis of the nurse-patient interaction]

The present investigation is an analysis of nurse patient interaction in a situation of blood collection. The body of this study consists twenty dialogues among five nurses and twenty patients. The "mechanics" of conversation was analyzed using the turn-taking sistem, as well as the formal marks that constitute and individualize the discoursive formation. The results showed an asymmetry in the interaction, a fact that qualifies the nurse-patient interaction as one of control, domination and effacement of individuality. These factors show that ideology of the hospital institution with respect to the patient is characterized by imposition of authority and alienation.