[The worker with no training in nursing in a center of materials and sterilization: a challenge to the nurse].

The object of this study was to characterize the process of insertion in the Centros de Material e Esterilização - Center of Material and Sterilization (CME) of workers who have no specific formation in the area of Nursing. Seventy-five workers of two public hospitals took part in the study. After the observation of the legal ethical aspects, data was obtained through a questionnaire previously validated and tested. The study found 15 workers without specific formation, who came from different intra- and extra-hospital services. They had not been submitted to selection processes nor to training, and had learned the work routine with co-workers. This is worrisome, considering the worker's occupational risk, the risks this situation represents for the quality of the reprocessing of hospital items and the conformity to the legislation that governs professional practice.