Women's health education in undergraduate nursing courses

Abstracts

Este artículo tiene como objetivo analizar la enseñanza en Salud de la Mujer a nivel de graduación de Enfermería en la ciudad de São Paulo, describiendo a los docentes y sus procesos pedagógicos. Se aplicó un cuestionario a 17 docentes responsables por materias relacionadas a la Salud de la Mujer. Fue observada una buena calificación del docente y un tiempo de la enseñanza superior a cinco años. La mayoría de los profesores tienen formación pedagógica y trabaja en un régimen de tiempo parcial o por hora/ clases. La denominación "Asistencia de Enfermería en Salud de la Mujer" es adoptada en la mayoría de las facultades y escuelas. Los procesos pedagógicos muestran una tendencia de ampliar los referenciales conceptuales; siendo aún mantenida la clase expositiva como estrategia fundamental y la prueba escrita como instrumento prioritario para la evaluación. La perspectiva de la enseñanza en Salud de la Mujer es mas crítica por parte de los docentes, quienes por tener algo nivel académico favorecen al aprendizaje, el cual se da entre la transmisión y la construcción activa.

enseñanza; docentes de enfermería; salud de mujer

Este artigo objetiva analisar o ensino da Saúde da Mulher nos Cursos de Enfermagem da cidade de São Paulo, caracterizando os docentes e os processos pedagógicos neles vivenciados. Aplicou-se questionário a 17 docentes responsáveis por este ensino. Observa-se boa qualificação docente e tempo de docência, predominantemente, superior a 05 anos. A maioria dos professores tem curso de formação docente e atuam em regime parcial ou hora-aula. A denominação "Assistência de Enfermagem à Saúde da Mulher" é a mais adotada nos cursos. Os processos pedagógicos mostram uma tendência de ampliação dos referenciais conceituais, mantendo-se a aula expositiva como a estratégia fundamental e, a prova escrita como instrumento avaliativo prioritário. O ensino da Saúde da Mulher apresenta, assim, incorporação de perspectiva mais crítica sobre saúde da mulher, contando com a participação de professores titulados e apresentando situações de aprendizagem que transitam entre a transmissão e a construção ativa.

ensino; docente de enfermagem; saúde da mulher

SHORT COMMUNICATIONS/CASES ACCOUNTS

Women's health education in undergraduate nursing courses

Neiva Gomes de Alencar^I; Sylvia Helena Souza da Silva Batista^II; Lídia Ruiz-Moreno^III

^IRN, M. Sc in Health Sciences Teaching, Professor at University Center Nove de Julho, Professor at Israeli Hospital Albert Einstein, College of Nursing, e-mail: [e-mail], [e-mail]

^IIAdvisor, PhD in Biologist, Professor, e-mail: [e-mail]

^IIIAdvisor, PhD in Psychology Education, Professor, e-mail: [e-mail]. São Paulo Federal University, Paulista School of Medicine

ABSTRACT

This article aimed to analyze the Women's Health Education in the Nursing courses in São Paulo, SP, Brazil, characterizing faculty members and the pedagogical processes implemented. A questionnaire was carried out with 17 professors responsible for the teaching. It was possible to observe good qualification of the faculty members, in its majority with teaching experience superior to five years. In addition, most of the professors have teaching education with partial dedication to teaching and research or work per hour. The denomination "Women's Health Nursing Assistance" is adopted by the majority of courses. The pedagogical processes tend to extend conceptual references, keeping expositive classes as the main teaching strategy and written tests are the most applied evaluation method. The teaching of woman's health presents, therefore, a more critical perspective about woman's health with the participation of graduate professors and learning situations that integrate both the transmission and the active construction of knowledge.

Descriptors: teaching; faculty nursing; women's health

INTRODUCTION

In 1991, the Pew Health Professions Commission report signalized the need to change the nursing curricula, with a view to guiding teaching within a preventive perspective⁽¹⁾. In the Brazilian scenario, nursing courses have been undergoing several reformulations, mainly seeking to implement the Curricular Guidelines. In terms of Women's Health, these guidelines⁽²⁾ establish the Nursing Care delivered to women as essential content in the curriculum, considering the sociocultural and economic determinants of this process.

The epidemiological transformations that have happened in Brazil, changes in women's life standards, expanded conceptions about Women's Health⁽³⁾ and the movement toward the implementation of public policies to attend to these demands reflect the singularity of a moment of significant transformation. In this context, we question: how is the teaching on Women's Health occurring in undergraduate courses taught at nursing schools in São Paulo City? This study aims to analyze the teaching of Women's Health in these courses, characterizing the faculty and the experienced pedagogical processes.

METHODOLOGY

This is an exploratory, descriptive and cross-sectional study, carried out with 17 faculty members responsible for disciplines that address contents related to Women's Health in 17 nursing courses in São Paulo City. Data were collected through a questionnaire that investigated faculty characteristics and the pedagogical processes experienced in Women's Health teaching. The researchers applied the questionnaires, after approval by the Research Ethics Committee was obtained and after the participants had signed the Free and Informed Consent Term.

The descriptive-analytical reading of the data involved four stages: exhaustive reading of the questionnaires, organization of the information, systematization of the data and construction of dialogs between data and literature⁽⁴⁾.

RESULTS

In the field academic degrees, the study population was distributed among people with a Ph.D. (4), Master's (10) and specialist degree (3). The faculty's experience varied from more than five years (10 faculty) to less than a year (two faculty), while four other faculty presented between three and five years of experience and one between one and three years.

Moments of faculty training occurred for 11 faculty, especially in the graduate programs. Six faculty (three Ph.D. and three master's) did not participate in any faculty training activity. Regarding the work regime, eight faculty work in a partial work regime, six work per hour, two work full time (40hs) and one works in an exclusive dedication regime.

In the courses, Women's Health teaching receives different denominations: Nursing Care to Women's Health (14 courses), Obstetrical and Gynecological Nursing (two courses); Obstetrical and Neonatology Nursing (one course). The hour load is heterogeneous among the institutions: 101-105 hours in nine institutions, 71-100 hours in six and more than 200 hours in two institutions. In twelve courses, the Women's Health discipline is undergoing changes, such as the reduction and/or redistribution of hour loads, content adaptation and implantation of a problem-oriented teaching proposal.

The privileged teaching strategies include expositive classes (17 references), team work (16 indications), dialogical classes (10 references), other strategies (8 indications) and cataloguing (1 mention). Regarding the learning evaluation, all faculty use written tests. Bibliographic research was mentioned 12 times, while summary and cataloguing were indicated seven times. Other kinds of evaluation (field visit, seminars integrated with other disciplines, scientific journeys and care campaigns) were mentioned six times, while practical tests were indicated only once.

DISCUSSION

The results evidenced a good qualification of faculty members in Women's Health teaching, in line with current tendencies, in which a degree is essential to hire a faculty member. Studies show that the degree level can contribute to the dissemination of an academic culture concerned with knowledge production⁽⁵⁾. The teaching experience exceeds five years. Even without considering this factor as the only indicator, moments the faculty experienced and their in-class learning seem to be proportional to their teaching experience⁽⁶⁾.

Most faculty demonstrated participation in faculty training activities for Nursing teaching. Faculty training is understood as a complex and continuous process of technical, theoretical and pedagogical preparation^(7,8). The obstetric nurse's qualification for teaching includes preparation to teach critically, compromised with the students' learning and with the development of competences for clinical practice⁽⁹⁾.

Regarding the work regime, the significant number of faculty working in a partial regime or hired per hour was remarkable. This information seems to indicate the existence of differentiated faculty work conditions in terms of concrete dedication possibilities to teaching, research and community service activities.

The examined pedagogical processes of teaching Women's Health show a tendency to expand the reference frameworks assumed in this field, moving beyond the pregnancy-puerperal cycle and opening up perspectives and new challenges in the courses⁽¹⁰⁾. All faculty use expositive classes as the most important teaching strategy. Other kinds of activities were listed, emphasizing group learning, which can offer important results for the education of nurses who value health team work.

Regarding the evaluation method, the written test is the instrument faculty most used. This type of evaluation, which emphasizes the cognitive aspect, has been the object of criticism and reflections⁽¹¹⁾; other mentioned evaluation instruments (bibliographic review, cataloguing, summary) are closer to the development of a critical posture regarding scientific information, aiming to deepen reflections about the addressed content⁽¹²⁾. This study also showed the limited use of practical tests.

FINAL CONSIDERATIONS

The collected data and analyses performed in this study make it possible to understand Women's Health teaching in Nursing undergraduate courses in São Paulo City. It reveals movements to surpass and transform the nursing education processes. The incorporation of a more critical theoretical perspective in the area of Women's Health, with the participation of faculty who invest in their academic qualification and whose teaching and learning situations, although still containing traces of a transmissive academic culture, indicate movements that guide the student in a more active and propositional way, outlining multiple and differentiated scenarios. In this sense, research about faculty and pedagogical processes in the context of Women's Health teaching represents important dimensions to the study of undergraduate Nursing education, projecting nurses who are prepared to act in a critical, reflective and compromised way in health care practices.

Recebido em: 11.8.2005

Aprovado em: 16.11.2006

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Publication Dates

• Publication in this collection
  29 May 2007
• Date of issue
  Apr 2007

History

• Received
  11 Aug 2005
• Accepted
  16 Nov 2006