ABSTRACT
The aim of this study was to analyze how the creation of the Medalha Milagrosa Nursing School took place in 1945. This is a socio-historical study that uses an analytical strategy anchored in Pierre Bourdieu's thought. Primary and secondary sources were used. As a result, the central role of the New State (Estado Novo) and its historically authoritarian interpenetration in the societal and economic spheres are discussed, as well as the process through which the field of forces and struggles was constructed by the players during the movement to create this school. In the organizational and bureaucratic field, disputes between the State, the Church, and the academic environment are observed. There is evidence related to the innovation that this school meant in the fields of health and education, as well as to actions taken by the players who created it according to the patterns of modern nursing.
DESCRIPTORS:
History of nursing; Academic institution; State