Analysis of scientific literature on professional education in brazilian nursing: an integrative review

Abstract

The study objective was to identify and characterize the Brazilian publications related to professional education in nursing. This is an exploratory and descriptive study that uses a quantitative approach. We chose to use the integrative review as methodological reference. The study research was conducted through the LILACS database by combining the descriptors "nursing" and "professional education", between the years 1999 to 2009. Sixteen references were considered eligible. The data were analyzed according to their content, via descriptive statistics. Despite the small number of items found (n = 16) over a period of ten years, the publications provide contributions on what has been accomplished in the training the nursing professionals. The scientific production has been concentrated in the Southeast of the country (n = 12). As for the thematic approach, the most discussed topic was strategies for education (distance education, directed study, interdisciplinarity). Increased research is necessary for examining the context of the professional education in nursing as it requires the teacher to have critical-reflexive vision about secondary level nursing education at as a way to improve his/her performance as an educator.