Histórias do Programa de Pós-graduação em Enfermagem da Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais a partir da trajetória profissional de seus egressos (2017 a 2020)

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: The stricto sensu postgraduate program in nursing emerged in the United States, structuring the profession with the Nightingale model. In Brazil, it was implemented amid political and educational reforms, culminating in the University Reform of 1968. The stricto sensu postgraduate program in nursing at the Federal University of Minas Gerais began in 1994 and, since 2020, has been following the trajectories of its graduates, but faces limits in qualitative analysis. This understanding is essential to assess the social, political, and economic impacts of training. Thus, the question is how the master's and doctoral degrees have contributed beyond credentials, transforming the professional practice of graduates from the 2017-2020 four-year period. STUDY OBJECT: the professional trajectory of graduates of the master's and doctorate programs of the stricto sensu postgraduate program in nursing of the School of Nursing of the Federal University of Minas Gerais, between 2017 and 2020. OBJECTIVES: To historicize the postgraduate program in nursing in the context of the School of Nursing of the Federal University of Minas Gerais, in its thirty years of existence (1994 2024); to characterize the profile of graduates graduated between 2017 and 2020; and to analyze the elements of professionalization present in the trajectories of the social body of graduates during the period. ASSUMPTION: the Program elevated the status quo of nursing in Minas Gerais, constituting a group of graduates who occupied prominent positions based on the credentials acquired after completing the master's and/or doctorate courses in the program, in the four-year period 2017-2020. JUSTIFICATION: Graduates can contribute to improving their academic training, adjusting it to the teaching objectives and careers of masters and doctors, in addition to responding to demands for scientific development and innovation. Furthermore, there are no studies in Minas Gerais historiography that portray the professional trajectory of graduates of this program. METHOD: historical-social research, inserted in the field of History of Nursing, with a qualitative approach. Oral History and Textual History will be used with the analysis of institutional documents. The findings will be analyzed in light of Eliot Freidson's Sociology of Professions, composing the historical narrative. RESULTS: Between 2017 and 2020, the program graduated 218 students, the majority of whom being women, mostly nurses, but also professionals from related fields. Most of them were already working in the market before joining, evidencing the qualification and credentialing nature of the stricto sensu program. The master's degree had an impact mainly on care and management practice, while the doctorate favored teaching and research. The trajectories reflect the search for autonomy, recognition and professional legitimacy, in line with Freidson's theory. CONCLUSION: Over three decades, the program has consolidated itself as a reference in the training of critical nurses, working in teaching, research and management. Despite financial, political and health challenges, it has maintained its commitment to excellence. The trajectories of the graduates indicate progress but also reveal gender inequalities and difficulties in the transition to the market, especially among scholarship holders. The postgraduate program has strengthened autonomy and technical-scientific knowledge in Nursing, consolidating itself as a strategic space for training professionals committed to social transformation.