[Planning human resources in nursing: challenge for the leadership]

This study proposes an essay of issues involving human resources planning in nursing in the hospital sector in our current reality, discussing possible topics for future research. This is a retrospective of the evolution of research on determining the number of staff in Brazil, and the incorporation of new instruments to evaluate the work load based on the degree of dependency of the patients and actions in care. The impact of the quantity and quality of human resources on the results of care is discussed, and the role of leaders in adapting the staff composition, in order to supply safe, risk-free care to the patients and their families, seeking a management model for health practices from the perspective of complex care.