Objective: to understand the meaning of care for nursing technicians who work in the Surgical Center of a general hospitalin the western border of Rio Grande do Sul/Brazil. Methods: this is a qualitative research, with an exploratory and descriptiveapproach. The technique used for data collection was a semi-structured interview and notes from the field diary wereavailable for support. The respondents were eight nursing technicians of the Surgical Center. Results: it can be emphasizedthat participants value psychological, social and affective aspects of patients and their families, also expressing a holisticview in regards to caring for themselves or others. Conclusion: in the referred unit, care is an activity involving multipleaspects, patients, families and staff. The meanings valued by professionals reveal detachment from technical aspects to valuepsychological, social and emotional aspects of care.