[Accreditation of the nursing service at the Varese Hospital, Italy].

The article presents the results of a project carried out by a group of four nurse managers of the Hospital "Ospedale di Circolo e Fondazione Macchi" in Varese, Italy, in order to accreditate the Nursing Service. After its constitution and formalization in 1994 and the definition of the goals of the Service, the process of continuous improvement of quality has been described. The accreditation process has led to the compilation of the Quality handbook.

[The nursing service at the enterprise: "Ospedale di Circolo e Fondazione Macchi" in Varese].

The article present the results of a project carried out by a group of four nurse managers of the Hospital "Ospedale di Circolo Fondazione Macchi" in Varese, Italy, in order to constitute the "Nursing Service". The Authors have described the initial situation with the traditional leading nursing roles in the Hospital (Nursing Officer and Director of the Nursing School) defining the objectives of the project. The goal of the Service has been identified, the organizational structure has been chosen and the different line and staff functions described.