This is a qualitative descriptive research, carried out with nursing undergraduates from Rio de Janeiro State University, Brazil. The purpose is to discuss students' experiences and their social practice in assisting drugs users. Data were collected from December, 2008 to January, 2009, with the use of focal groups composed by 19 undergraduates from the last three semesters of the course. The project was approved by the Ethics Research Commission. All participants signed the Informed Consent. The results evidenced students' difficulty in facing reality, due to the contrast between theory and practice. Such difficulty came out as a consequence of an inapropriate educational approach. We concluded that the academic institutions should optimize the use of teaching process. Professional formation related to the phenomenon of drug abuse is considered essential as it becomes more and more frequent in nurses' daily routines.
Students; nursing; Teaching