A PERSPECTIVE OF THE COMMUNITY HEALTH AGENT IN WELCOME TRENCH

Introduction and Objectives: The new structural format of basic health units in the city of Rio de Janeiro have a reception by staff, positioning the community agent in the function of receiving the patient in the first contact. The agent serves to welcome, listen the demand, to register, share with the team and give a direction to the patient. Empowered in that situation, it is up to him the decision on the feasibility and forecasting time to the nursing or physician attendance. However, if the team has a restricted access, repulsed the unscheduled demand and works with a non-flexible schedule, this shift will be the one with highest stress for the agent when he has to give recurring negative answer for the population. We intend to discuss the agent‘s vulnerability in this situation. Method: The six staff agents of area 5 draw a comparison of their experience while working in the same team in two distinct moments before and after the opening of access, post entry of the medical residency, weighing how much this influences in their work in terms of conflicts with the population, teamwork and problem solving. Results and Conclusions: The open access where the vast majority of patients can reach the nurse or doctor ensures greater security for agent performance that is not able to screen. Such flow depends on a united team that enables a non-hierarchical dialogue and a clear understanding of spontaneous demand as a major duty of primary care.