This study describes the experience of implanting and developing the Specialization Course in Infectious Disease Nursing, as well as its implementation within the Evandro Chagas, Clinical Research Center at the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 1997 to 1999. From the historical perspective of the Hospital and infectious diseases, this research aims to demonstrate the experience accumulated in the human resource formation process. It justifies a specialization course in infectious diseases to the extent that, in underdeveloped and developing countries, the profile of morbidity/mortality causes is still important. It sets forth the process of adjusting the course, evaluated by the coordinators, teaching staff and students, throughout its development, and deals with the significance of such training in the private and professional lives of its graduates, most of whom entered the labor market and are engaged in educational activities, with an expressive promotion of new practices in health services.
graduate education; communicable diseases; nursing education