Dimensioning nursing human resources has been widely and intensely discussed in the various spheres which involve the complexity of attending the population's health care needs. The objective of this study is to dimension the nursing staff at a Brazilian public university hospital in Paraná according to the methodology proposed by the Brazilian Human Health Resources Observatory Network. In doing so, it has been possible to dimension an ideal staff and compare it with the actual one, contemplating aspects such as structure, process, and client needs. The comparison shows a deficit of 118 nurses and 204 nursing technicians. We hope that the present study may further future discussion among nurses in order to approximate them to the issue and the variables involved in staff-sizing, for if they directly act in providing care, they are in the right position to continuously assess the available resources and subsidize studies of this nature.
Nursing; Nursing staff; Health personnel management; Personnel downsizing
