ABSTRACT
Objective:
to analyze the factors that influenced the choice for nursing made by graduates from the first class of the Undergraduate Nursing and Obstetrics Course of the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte in the 1970s and to understand the senses and meanings of being a nurse when choosing this profession.
Method:
a qualitative socio-historical study was performed, using oral history to collect data.
Results:
the analysis generated the following categories: "To be a nurse: a professional choice" and "The ideal of being a nurse: senses and meanings". The senses of "being a nurse" are associated with graduates' perspective of this profession and the meanings included the traditional conceptions that have historically affected it.
Conclusion:
professional choice was influenced by family and work expectations and the nursing course had an effect on the construction of nurses' professional identity.
Descriptors:
Nursing; History of Nursing; Professional Choice; Professional Identity; Qualification