Concerned with the present situation of change in nursing practice and teaching in view of the various contributions proposed for graduate curricula in nursing and of the need for greater involvemente in this process on the part of all professionals, the authors investigated how the nurse fits in her profession on the basis of the various historical moments of curricular changes. It is concluded that, even though nursing has triep to keep up with the scientific and technological evolution, in the opinion of the population studied it has not reached the desired level of performance. The results showed the opinion based on experience that professional practicer is not related to the training process, with no agreement between what is learned and what is actually experience. The professional nurse feels the need for a preparation more related to concrete reality and a greater connection between Theory and Practice.