The aim of this study was to understand preceptorship in nursing practice fields and its association with comprehensive care. This study was based on qualitative field research conducted in Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil, from April to June 2012. A total of 20 preceptors were interviewed in the practice fields of three higher education institutions at three public state hospitals and one basic health unit. Thematic analysis enabled apprehension of the theme 'preceptorship in the perspective of comprehensive care', and the empirical categories: (dis)articulation in teaching-service: distancing from academic institutions; welcoming students in the practice field. On the field, routine teaches: articulation in teaching-service from the preceptor's perspective. Results showed that teaching-service integration is at risk in light of biologicism and the gap between teaching institutions and health services, but that it is a way of constructing the necessary changes to consolidate the National Health Service.
Nursing; Preceptorship; Unified Health System