Exploitation and alienation of the body of the nurse: a phenomenological study

objective: to understand the experience of being woman, mother, and nurse. methods: this phenomenological study was conducted in a teaching hospital in curitiba, brazil from june 2005 to march 2006. the sample consisted of seven nurses. data were collected through semi-structured interviews. results: the main emerged theme was "exploitation and alienation of the body of the nurse until its exhaustation." conclusion: nurses have difficulties in assuming other roles in professional organizations and institutional administration due to workload and exhaustion in performing their personal and professional tasks.