This article analyzes the creation of the occupational therapy degree in Argentina. Privileging socio-historical construction, it examines aspects of the professionalization process, establishing relationships between the context of the 1956 poliomyelitis epidemic and the influence of gender concepts in the creation of the profession of occupational therapist. The rise of this profession in Argentina introduced the idea of curing by doing, a therapeutic approach that involved doing things as a way of mitigating the consequences of this crucial epidemic. Finally, it suggests an ongoing process of struggle and tensions with obstacles yet to be overcome in order to acquire professional autonomy and a monopoly in practice.
poliomyelitis; occupational therapy; professionalization; epidemic; Argentina