The ideological paradigms of a complete nursing background; the professional quality one intends to prepare; the ethical, political, and technical commitment, and the complexity of the nursing work processes cause programs to rethink their teaching and adaptation to Brazilian National Curriculum Guidelines. The objective of this study was to identify in interview conversations with 32 undergraduate nursing students the importance attributed to management classes in their professional preparation and to correlate them to the guidelines' governing principles. This is a qualitative research developed as a case study. The data were collected through semi-structured interviews and submitted to Content Analysis. According to undergraduates, teaching administration must have a greater time load; more encompassing content; diversified strategies; reinforcement of skill development, especially ethical-political skills; and consideration of the union which exists between teaching, research, and community clinical work. According to undergraduates managerial skills deserve special attention in restructuring the nursing curriculum.
Nursing; Curriculum; Management; Professional competence
