This study discusses the physical examination and the Nursing Process from Morin's perspective of Complexity. Its objectives are: to describe the complexity of the physical examination and discuss its interaction with the Nursing Process. Using the descriptive and exploratory method, this research was based on data collection aimed at 10 nurses, who were interviewed and followed by participant observation. The analysis was made through the Collective Subject Discourse. As a result, the "dialogic/recursive" axes as well as "the hologram and the reintroduction of knowledge" were discussed. Physical examination used as a component of the nursing process involves the complexity of care and the management of order and disorder in everyday life. Under a dialogical approach, contextualized technical human interventions are observed. The improvement of clinical assessment, broadened by the complexity of physical examination, enables the integration of the Nursing Process for the effectiveness of care.
Physical Examination; Nursing Process; Nursing Care; Human Body