Play in the care practices of licensed practical nurses with hospitalized children.

Objective: to understand the use of play in the care practices of licensed practical nurses with hospitalized children.

Method: this is a qualitative, exploratory and descriptive study, based on the Symbolic Interactionism theoretical-methodological framework, developed in a pediatric inpatient unit of a university hospital located in the countryside of São Paulo. Data was collected from August to October 2023 using non-participant observation. The study included 25 licensed practical nurses working in the unit in question. Data analysis was based on reflective thematic analysis.

Results: play was primarily used to facilitate the execution of procedures. It was evident that participants did not link and integrate this resource into their care practices. Furthermore, the toy library was not understood as a space associated with licensed practical nurses. The themes "Play in care practices" and "Interactions with the hospital toy library" detail the professional practices observed.

Conclusion: the use of play in licensed practical nurses' care practices was reinforced by the symbolism that play is not feasible during pediatric hospitalization and that using the toy library is not part of its scope, which determined the limited incorporation of this resource. Furthermore, the importance of play activities was not recognized by the participants.