COMPUTERIZATION OF NURSING UNITS AND FORMALIZATION OF NURSES WORK

The computerization of nursing units is in process in a lot of french hospitals. This project is part of a larger one, aiming the rationalisation of the hospital activity as a whole. At the same time, nurses want to get their work visible and distinct from medical work. The present step, the formalisation of nurses' work, offers an interesting example of the construction of nurses' activity, in tension between these two determinants. Nurses have to articulate, on one hand a formalization work about their activity, inside of the nurses group, in order to elaborate a unified and shared representation, on the other hand a work of explanation and negociation to the other professional groups in order to make their representation of nursing acceptable. The nurses in charge of the definition of specific applications elaborate during this long process quite particular knowledge and competences, while their institutional status remains fragile.