This is a socio-historical study aimed to historicize the career of Ingrid Elsen, a nurse, teacher and Brazilian researcher. Data were collected through semi-structured interview, on the third and tenth of March 2013, with the nurse Ingrid, applying the method of oral history and documentary research. The following themes were highlighted based on a thematic content analysis: being a nurse, the early challenges; being a teacher and researcher, new directions; being the protagonist in the creation of groups related to family care; and being experienced, social recognition of her professional career. Results show an important contribution for the practice and the nursing science in health care, education and research. Pioneer in the line of research related to the health of families; in the formation of family health research groups and family and violence, printing a competence mark for the construction of knowledge in the area, from an interdisciplinary perspective.
Education; Family; Biography; History of nursing