Competences of the Nurse Member of the Intrahospital Commission for Organ and Tissue Donation for Transplantation

Abstract

Introduction: Among the members that compose the Brazilian Intrahospital Commission for Organ and Tissue Donation for Transplantation (Cihdott), the nurse is the professional who has the greatest contact with potential donors and their families because of the care provided to patients in intensive care units, thus becoming a reference for the family. The nurse’s performance as a member of Cihdott has been recognized and related to the success of organ donation. Objective: To identify the competences of the nurse member of Cihdott. Methods: Descriptive study, with a qualitative approach. Nurses who had been members of Cihdott for at least six months and agreed to participate in the research were included, selected by means of the snowball technique. Semistructured interviews were conducted, and data analysis was done by thematic grouping, using Minayo’s referential. Results: Ten nurses, aged between 32 and 50 years and working at a Cihdott for 4 to 11 years, participated in the study. From the data analysis, four categories emerged: “The role of the nurse from the beginning to the end of the donation process”; “Competences and attributions of the Cihdott nurse”; “Personal qualities that influence the professional ambit”; and “Limiting factors for the nurse’s performance.” Final considerations: The nurse member of the Cihdott acts in several activities in the donation and transplantation process, among them: active search, family interview, donor maintenance, follow-up of the organ and tissue removal and transplantation process, organ packaging for transplantation, body reconstitution follow-up, and body return to the donor family, and training with the teams. Besides this, administrative and bureaucratic attributions are part of the Cihdott nurse’s routine.