To know the opinion of nursing professionals about the factors that interfere with the turnover time. Method: This is an exploratory,descriptive, prospective study, with qualitative data analysis. Data collection was carried out in a hospital complex in southern Brazil, with the applicationof a questionnaire on the perception of nursing professionals who work in the surgical center (SC). For data analysis, Bardin content analysis was used.Results: A total of 25 professionals participated in the study, four nurses and 21 licensed practical nurses. Two categories were listed, factors related tothe team and factors related to the processes of the SC, and seven subcategories. Conclusion: Several factors interfere in the turnover time, highlightingteam training, adequate staff, collaboration among teams, surgery size, and bureaucratic processes.