Formação para a docência em enfermagem nas escolas técnicas do SUS: possibilidades em comunidade de prática

Abstract

A qualitative study of action-research type aimed at understanding how nurses develop their training for teaching in technical education in nursing at Technical Schools of the Unified Health System in the light of Lee S. Shulman’s theoretical framework. The five Technical Schools of the Unified Health System of three Brazilian regions were the scenario where the classes of the technical course in nursing took place, located in Acre, Amazonas, Ceará, Paraná and Santa Catarina. The study was developed in two phases: diagnosis, which aimed to establish a comprehensive overview about the object, contemplating the five schools mentioned, and participatory, with action-research, whose scenario was the school in Ceará. The participants were the teachers of the course in above mentioned and pedagogical coordinators of the schools. As for data collection instruments and techniques, an on-line questionnaire with the teaching nurses was employed in the diagnostic phase, in which questions were related to their training professional profile. Also, a script was used to conduct a semi-structured interview with the pedagogical coordinator to obtain information concerning the pedagogical spaces constituted by schools for teacher training. In the participatory phase, the Focus Group technique was applied, guided by a script with questions on the knowledge of teachers’ reality, their difficulties and needs related to teacher training, as well as the possibility of developing a Community of Practice in the perspective of continuing education for teachers. For systematization and analysis of the data collected through a questionnaire, we used descriptive statistics and analysis. For the data collected through the interviews and the Focus Group, thematic content analysis was used according to Bardin, supported by the Qualitative Data Analysis Software. Findings show that the minority of nurse professors was licensed and most had a specialization in nursing/health. Although most considered training necessary for teaching, almost half were not qualified for this job. The average experience providing care was longer than in management, focusing on the hospital institution. Still, the pedagogical spaces established by the technical schools for teacher training are focused on pedagogical meetings that take place before the teacher’s performance, during and at the end of this performance. It was also proved that the paths for the teaching education of nurses run through their motivation for insertion and performance in teaching and through training itself. The need for training was found and granted through institutional qualifications and a personal search for specialization courses. Finally, possibilities for the development of a community of teaching practice were identified through the perception of the need for teacher training, difficulty in reconciling work and study and the feasibility of promoting this group training. The training of nurses for teaching and the investment in teaching is crucial, as the training of essential workers for nursing care is on the agenda. Thus, it is necessary (re)formulating policies that consider the complexity and professionalism of teaching, with a view to training and teaching as an expert and strengthening the Unified Health System