title: Conformity of nurse prescribing to care needs: nurses' understanding.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  investigate the understanding of nurses on nurse prescribing conformity to the care needs of hospitalized patients and factors associated with that conformity.
  
  
  METHODS
  a descriptive study, with a quantitative approach, was conducted at 20 in-patient units of a teaching hospital in the state of São Paulo. The participants (N=139) answered a semi-structured questionnaire.
  
  
  RESULTS
  For 43 (30.9%) nurses, nurse prescribing is always in line with patients' care needs. The fields of body care and elimination, skin and mucosa care and investigation and monitoring were the most frequently addressed.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  in the perception of most nurses, nurse prescribing does not conform with patients' health heeds. The establishment of strategies to improve prescribing quality is recommended, as well as the development of permanent qualification programs and the systematic use of instruments for assessment of patients' care demands regarding nursing.
authors.affiliation: Hospital de Base de São José do Rio Preto, São José do Rio Preto, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Marília Silveira
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Faeda
authors.affiliation: Department of Specialized Nursing, Faculdade de Medicina de São José do Rio Preto, São José do Rio Preto, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Márcia Galan
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Perroca
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001938:Brazil; D002983:Clinical Competence / Q000592:standards* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011307:Drug Prescriptions / Q000451:nursing / Q000592:standards* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006784:Hospitals, Teaching / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D006920:Hygiene / Q000592:standards; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D024802:Nurse's Role; D009726:Nurses / Q000592:standards* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010362:Patients' Rooms / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D017009:Professional Autonomy; D011787:Quality of Health Care / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D017592:Skin Care / Q000451:nursing; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires