Introduction: The reference nurse model is based on a methodology for organizing comprehensive, individualized and continuous care, centered on the child and the family, and has its similarity to the role of the family nurse in primary health care. Its theoretical conception resides in family-centered care and in the care partnership model. Objectives: To describe the parents' perception of the role of the reference nurse in the care of children undergoing liver transplantation. Methods: Qualitative, exploratory-descriptive study of a phenomenological nature, Level I, through the application of semi-structured interviews to a non-probabilistic sample of 5 parents, with content analysis being performed. Results: Parents recognize the existence of a reference nurse in care during their child's hospitalization and emphasize characteristics that differentiate him from another professional, valuing technical/scientific, human skills, personalized and individualized follow-up. They reveal positive experiences with the care provided by the reference nurse, showing themselves to be satisfied. As proposals for improvement, parents suggest greater humanization, optimizing the integration of parents in care and creating support groups. Conclusions. We believe that this study can provide contributions to optimize the use of the reference nurse model in the practice of specialized nursing care, with repercussions on improving the quality of care and greater parental satisfaction.