Experience of illness and sick leave

the case of a nurse technician

Abstract

This study was developed under the matrix research Absences from work, a problem for the management of the care in hospital', and aimed to understand the illness experience of a nurse technician who was absentfrom work by medical leave. It describes the illness meanings attributed to her own everyday and professional lives. Qualitative research with the biographical-interpretive perspective was conducted in a public hospital of Cuiabá-MT. Data was collected by narrative interview and direct observation. The narrative of the experience was interpreted based on the nurse technician perception as being in a disease condition and lookingfor production, management and health care process. It was applied the ecomap and the therapeutic itinerary as analytical tools to organize and to understand the experience. This analysis led to three empirical categories: life and work before the illness, the experience of herniated disc illness and, sick leave. It was concluded that the illness experience and its consequent need for hospitalization led to important changes. She saw the other side that became her perplex about the indifference and pain felling manifested by their peers. It generates the desire to adopt another professional practice, with more human and respect to complaints of hospitalized persons. It was found a big relationship between illness and work, which lookingfor health assistance was so late. It took place only when the pain was so acute.