Absenteeism in the nursing team in surgical-clinical units of a philanthropic hospital

Objective: Identify the rate of absenteeism in the nursing team in surgical-clinical units of a philanthropic hospital in the interior of the state of Sao Paulo, and determine the technical safety index for each professional category. Methods: Data were collected from documents of the Nursing and Personnel Departments, covering the year 2006, using the equations proposed by Gaidzinski. Results: The percentage of planned absences (days off, holidays and vacations) corresponded, respectively, to 17%, 3.1% and 9%. Maternity leaves were identified as the main reason for unplanned absences for the nursing workers, followed by medical leaves. The technical safety index varied from 32% to 47% for nurses and from 35% to 40% for nursing auxiliaries and nursing technicians. Conclusion: The identification of the safety index for covering absences provides nurses with tools for planning nursing human resources quanti-qualitatively.