OBJECTIVE: To identify how nursing students experience telling their family stories as a learning strategy in family care. METHODS: This was a qualitative and descriptive study, conducted with 18 students (second year, Nursing undergraduate course, Federal University of São Paulo) who participated in four meetings. These were used as an additional resource in formation of family care. Content analysis as proposed by Bardin was used. RESULTS: Three categories emerged: changes in perception and expansion of the concept of family, and redefinition of ties; identification of similarities, beliefs, values, and rituals in family stories; enhancement of active listening as a strategy for family care. CONCLUSION: This study contributed to create new strategies for nursing education in family care so far as students could revise concepts and extend contexts based on stories told by participants.
Education, nursing; Family health; Autobiography