The goal is to identify the perceptions and reactions related to the olfactory sense in the care provided. It presents the results of three doctoral researches on olfactory cues in understanding the clinical and standard variations of nursing care in hospital sectors. It's an exploratory and descriptive study with a qualitative approach, emphasizing the principles of Sociopoetic method and the body socio-communicating senses. It shows the use of this as a tool to diagnose the physiological and psychoaffective health deviations; assess the state of hygiene, the cleaning of patient's body and environment and to guide the nursing care needed. It was identified the repulse for the bad smell emanating from the patient and the strategies used to minimize them. Allowed to set up a space for dialogue to see the reactions to odors, recognize their own limitations on olfactory stimuli and adjust the response mechanisms that enable the comfort and safety of those involved in nursing care.
Smell; Olfactory perception; Nursing care; Students, Nursing