Competencies of the nurse specialist in nephrology/Competencias do enfermeiro especialista em nefrologia/Competencias del enfermero especialista en nefrologia

This quanti-qualitative, descriptive study discussed nurses' understanding of the duties and competencies of the specialist in nephrology. In July and August 2012, semi-structured interviews of 11 nurses were conducted at the hemodialysis unit of a university hospital in Rio de Janeiro city, recorded and later transcribed. The data were formatted as an electronic data base, grouped by values of the same kind and subjected to content analysis. The results showed that the professionals' understanding of their duties and competencies are not well defined. They had difficulty giving complete, consistent answers, which may perhaps be attributed to lack of thinking on the subject. The study provides food for thought for professional nurses in hemodialysis about their activities, with a view to improved performance, competence-based practice and postures derived from knowing how to think and how to do.