ABSTRACT
Objective:
to analyze the circumstances of the creation of the first nursing undergraduate course in Espírito Santo from the expansion of nursing undergraduate courses in Brazil in the 1970s.
Method:
socio-historical documentary study, with a qualitative approach. The period covered was from 1972 to 1976, the initial milestone set by the III Meeting of the Ministers of Health of the Americas, held in Chile. Two written documents were used as central primary sources: the report of the work entitled “Data on the Training of Nursing Personnel in Brazil”, produced by the Documentation and Studies Commission of the Brazilian Nursing Association, published in 1969, and the report “Nursing Higher Education Development in Brazil”, published by the Department of University Affairs of the Ministry of Education and Culture in 1979.
Results:
The increase in the number of undergraduate nursing courses in Brazil in the 1970s, based on the Ten-Year Health Plan for the Americas, provided favorable conditions for the creation of the first nursing undergraduate course in Espírito Santo.
Conclusion:
Brazil, through the Department of University Affairs of the Ministry of Education and Culture and with the support of the Brazilian Nursing Association, initiated a nursing development policy, in which, during the 1970s, a significant number undergraduate courses in nursing were created, allowing a better geographical distribution of nurses in addition to the increase in the number of these professionals.
DESCRIPTORS:
History of nursing; Nursing; Higher education; Nursing education; History