The inquiry of this study is the beliefs related to the nursing professional in the first decades of this activity in Brazil. The investigation presupposes that some of these beliefs are still current. The objective is to point out the beliefs expressed by Revista Brasileira de Enfermagem (Brazilian Journal of Nursing) in 33 articles, during the period between 1932 (when the journal was created) and 1954. Five notions of the nursing professional were identified through the analyses of the symbology presented on the cover of the periodical - Egyptian mythology; ideal, science and art, inscribed in a triangle. The categories established for nurses were: self-forgetful, heroine, socially committed, mercenary and bad angel. Finally, the study proposes an interpretation to the ideas presented in the triangle.
history of nursing; ideal nurse; beliefs on nurses; education in nursing; ideal; science and art in nursing