THE PROFESSIONAL SOCIALIZATION IN THE PATH FROM TECHNICIAN TO NURSE

Abstract The research analyzed the process of socialization and transformation of nursing technicians into nurses through a descriptive and exploratory study, with a qualitative approach, conducted with 24 nursing technicians enrolled in an undergraduate course at a university in the state of Ceará, Brazil. The study was conducted between September and October 2016, through individual semi-structured interviews, with a thematic analysis in order to organize the data, which were discussed according to the presuppositions of the sociology of professions. Based on the results, three categories emerged: motivations for career progression; the dissimilarities between the work of the nurse technician and the nurse; and professional growth in the course of their studies. We noticed a process of professional socialization in the educational path of a nurse technician, which was motivated by a desire for career progression. The gradual transition is important so the technician can adapt to a new identity in the making, which can facilitate the migration among individuals with different levels of complexity in the nursing practice.