Sociological analysis of the training of neonatal nurses in Minas Gerais (2000-2001)

OBJECTIVES: to analyze the creation and implementation of the first class of the Hospital Nursing Specialization Course focusing on Neonatal Nursing, between the years 2000 and 2001. METHODS: a historical-social, descriptive study using documentary research, adopting established criteria for reporting qualitative research. It utilized eight documentary sources from the Memory Center of the Nursing School of the Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG, Federal University of Minas Gerais) and the Sofia Feldman Hospital. The findings were analyzed under the framework of Eliot Freidson's sociology of professions. RESULTS: two analytical categories emerged: "Initial efforts to enhance the training of specialist nurses in neonatology" and "Bringing ideas to life : implementation of the Hospital Nursing Specialization Course" : Details the concrete steps for turning the course into reality, from planning to execution. CONCLUSIONS: the first class of specialist neonatal nurses contributed to the development of nursing's own body of knowledge, enabling the acquisition of specialized expertise and the credentials necessary to support the profession's market reserve.