[The psychiatric nurse in a state institution: descriptive-exploratory study].

This exploratory-descriptive study aimed at understanding the professional satisfaction of 14 psychiatric nurses working in a São Paulo state institution, Brazil, taking into account career, opinion on the Psychiatric Reform, time of graduation, and continued education. The following categories were mentioned in the interviews: personal satisfaction, opinion on the Psychiatric Reform, time of graduation, and continued education. Findings revealed that most nurses felt dissatisfied with their profession due to lack of official investments in psychiatric nursing, which may compromise the quality of nursing care.