The objectives of this study are to describe the relationship between teaching psychiatry and the disciplinary power of the Sisters of Charity from the Hospício de Pedro II; to analyze the circumstances in which the contest to appoint the first Professor of Psychiatry at the Faculdade de Medicina do Rio de Janeiro, Brasil took place. This is a documentary historical research that analyzes the administrative books of the Santa Casa da Misericórdia and articles from the "Jornal do Commercio" based on the Michel Foucault framework. The selection for the first Professor of Psychiatry, although widely questioned by the press, elected a physician who opposed the institution's management. Upon admission as the Hospice's Sanitary Director, this professor initiated an administrative reform, leading to the progressive reduction of the sisters of charity's activities and consequently, nursing care within that arena, allowing its medicalization.
Nursing; History of nursing; Psychiatric nursing