This qualitative study aims to understand the meanings nurses at a university hospital attribute to the implementation process of the Nursing Diagnosis Classification System (DEn) as a phase in the Nursing Care System (NCS). Data were collected through interviews with eight nurses from the Medical Clinical Unit, who participated in the creation of an instrument to implement the DEn in the NCS. In their reports, the respondents expressed a positive change in their feelings, from initial discomfort and adverse perception of the change proposal. The stepwise appropriation of the process stages allowed them, besides the sharing of feelings, decisions and responsibilities for the results, to develop the belief that they would able to overcome the difficulties.
nursing diagnosis; organizational innovation; resources management