Objective: to validate the Risk Assessment Scale for the Development of Injuries due to Surgical Positioning in the stratification of risk for injury development in perioperative patients at a rehabilitation hospital. Method: analytical, longitudinal and quantitative study. An instrument and the scale were used in the three perioperative phases in 106 patients. The data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Results: most patients showed high risk for perioperative injuries, both in the scale score with estimated time and in the real-time score, with a mean of 19.97 (±3.02) and 19.96 (±3.12), respectively. Most participants did not show skin lesions (87.8%) or pain (92.5%). Inferential analysis enabled us to assert that the scale scores are associated with the appearance of injuries resulting from positioning, therefore, it can adequately predict that low-risk patients are unlikely to have injuries and those at high risk are more likely to develop injuries. Conclusion: the scale validation is shown by the association of scores with the appearance of injuries, therefore, it is a valid and useful tool, and it can guide the clinical practice of perioperative nurses in rehabilitation hospitals in order to reduce risk for injuries due to surgical positioning.

This report describes the experience of a group of nursing students from Universidad Federal do Piaui, in face of the reality of multiple sclerosis patient. The experience highlight the necessity of an integrated team to achieve fundamental knowledge and to offer a holistic assistance to the patient. The impact of the actions developed by the students, in APPEM (Piauiense Association of Multiple Sclerosis), allows them to better coexist with the difficulties of the disease. In addition, the general community is favored through the knowledge transmited by the activities developed by the group. We conclude that a wider knowledge about a full of mysteries pathology is only possible when the theory is combined with the reality of the patient.

RESUMO. Estudo descritivo de natureza quantitativa que objetivou traçar o conhecimento dos profissionais da área de saúde sobre Esclerose Múltipla. Foi realizado em oito hospitais dos 17 hospitais gerais do município de Teresina, Piauí, em 2008. A amostra não probabilística foi constituída por 100 profissionais de saúde. Utilizou-se um instrumento, por meio de entrevista, com questões abordando os aspectos relevantes da doença, com sinais e sintomas, história natural da doença, prevenção e tratamento. As respostas foram apresentadas em tabelas e gráficos e analisadas à luz da literatura pertinente. Verificou-se que 79% eram do sexo feminino, dos quais, 20% eram enfermeiros, 20% fisioterapeutas, 18% fonoaudiólogos, 15% médicos, 15% nutricionistas e 12% psicólogos.Citaram os livros (63%) e a Internet (39%) como fontes de informação sobre a doença. Cerca de 84% não sabiam descrever o surto de esclerose, 82% não sabiam as causas da doença e 65% não conheciam o tratamento. Conclui-se que os profissionais de hospitais gerais de Teresina ainda apresentaram conhecimento insuficiente sobre a temática.Palavras-chave: esclerose múltipla, conhecimento, prática profissional.ABSTRACT. Health professionals' knowledge on multiple sclerosis. Current quantitative and descriptive study discussing health professionals' knowledge on Multiple Sclerosis was undertaken in eight out of the 17 general hospitals in Teresina PI Brazil in 2008. A non-probabilistic sample comprised 100 health professionals who were interviewed on issues concerning relevant aspects of the disease, such as its signs and symptoms, the disease's natural history, its prevention and treatment. Answers, displayed by tables and graphs, were analyzed according to the literature. Analysis showed 79% of the health professionals were female, of whom 20% were nurses, 20% physiotherapists, 18% speech therapists, 15% physicians, 15% nutritionists and 12% psychologists. Their sources of information on the disease were books (63%) and the Internet (39%). Approximately 84% failed to describe a multiple sclerosis onset, whereas 82% and 65% respectively ignored the disease's causes and its treatment. It may be concluded that health professionals in the general hospitals in Teresina lack sufficient knowledge on the topic of multiple sclerosis.