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Learning Objective 1: The learner will be able to identify how nurses of the Family Health Program rate their interpersonal competence to coordinate the work team.
Learning Objective 2: The learner will be able to verify the information frequently cited by nurse managers dimensions in communication, leadership and participation.
Methods: Descriptive approach study including 94 nurses conducted in Goiânia, Brazil. Data were collected in 2007 using an instrument to specifically assess the interpersonal dimension: Communication, Leadership, and Participation. They were asked to rate their competence on a 1-to-7 scale where 1 meant THE LOWEST level and 7 THE HIGHEST level. Data were analyzed in Epi-Info 3.2.2 by means of simple frequency, means, and median.
Results: In the Communication dimension, 41% of nurses rated their skills of effective communication and good listeners at the highest level and 27% rated their skills of persuasion and reaction to feedback at the at the highest level. As for Leadership, 60% of nurses studied rated their skills of independence and 50% their skills of attracting support and willingness to compete at the highest level; 31% rates their initiative and stress resilience and 23% their skills for effective leadership at the highest level. In regard to Participation, 36% rates their skills of conflict management, experimentation, and ability to cause impact at the highest level while 47% rated their skills for openness, spontaneity, receptiveness, and close relationships at the highest level.
Conclusion: The study results show a need for building capacity among nurses for their continuing improvement of effective communication with work teams through actions based on established interactions, participative planning, and adequate relations for improving team performance.