Newborn identification in rooming-in care: practices of the nursing technician team

Abstract

Objective: To understand the knowledge of the nursing technician team of a maternity hospital regarding the identification of newborns in shared accommodation. Methods: Qualitative descriptive approach method, carried out in the second half of 2024 with nursing technicians working in a maternity ward of a medium-sized hospital in the northwest of the state of Rio Grande do Sul, in three work shifts. Data were collected through recorded and individual interviews. The content analysis method was applied to prepare the results. Results: Eight nursing technicians participated in the study, six of whom had more than six years of training and professional experience, and two who had more than one year of training and had been working in the field for more than six months. Two thematic categories emerged from the analysis of the information obtained: Practices adopted in identifying newborns in shared accommodation; Training of the nursing technician team. Conclusion: This research allowed us to understand the practice of the maternity nursing technical team regarding the identification of newborns, as well as highlighting the importance of developing and making available a patient identification protocol. It also demonstrated the importance of monitoring audits of adherence to the aforementioned protocol and the need for training or ongoing education to guide with a focus on improving the work process.