The challenge of the 67^th Brazilian Conference of Nursing: In what direction is the Brazilian Nursing going?

Bringing together about 3,700 participants among conference participants, speakers, support staff, organizers and exhibitors, the 67^th Brazilian Conference of Nursing extraordinary presented São Paulo with deep and meaningful reflections in an attempt to answer the question "In what direction is the Brazilian Nursing going?".

From the submission of the proposal to host the event until its performance, the Brazilian Nursing Association - São Paulo prioritized and excelled in providing a conference that rescued the importance for the collective of Nursing in the state of São Paulo for the construction of knowledge and nursing practice in the country. The last Brazilian Conference based in São Paulo took place 18 years ago. Almost two decades later, it was a matter of honor to provide the Brazilian Nursing society a quality event of undisputed recognition.

Task of such magnitude could not be performed by a small group. It had to combine interests, work and dedication of many people belonging to various spaces where Nursing is practiced in the state of São Paulo. It was with the idea that collective work is the only one that can overcome the challenge accepted that we called representatives of universities, services and other stakeholders of the cities of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto and Campinas (these two cities for hosting the regional ABEn-SP) to compose a Workshop in order to outline the thematic area. Several sessions were held, exchanging materials through e-mail and other forms of participation, as well as the work of a small group responsible for gradually systematizing all the material until we had the final result.

It was with great pride that we submitted and had them approved by CONABEn (National Council of ABEn) the axes in which the thematic unfolded itself and the programming content. We used as foundation the achievements, advances, challenges and perspectives of Nursing in their spheres of action, compared to the goals set for the third millennium, from the United Nation⁽¹⁾. As assumptions, we considered that the Brazilian Nursing can only be improved and transformed, if we include its historicity and living conditions, determined by the social context of the country, Latin America and the globalized world. The axes pro-posed were: Achievements, challenges and perspectives of Nursing to achieve the Millennium Develop-ment Goals: 1 - In the context of health and education policies of a globalized world; 2 - In the context of health practices and the nursing population's needs; 3 - As part of the production, dissemination, translation and use of knowledge across the global production of knowledge; 4 - As part of the professional training and performance of human resources in health and Nursing.

Note that both the agenda and its development in the form of conferences, lectures, thematic panels, sym-posia satellites, salons and other detailed rules contained in the program were quite disseminated during the event, through speakers and conference participants. Thus, it was shown how the collective work and follow-up of the principles of qualitative research are potential creative powers that should never be dispensed when it comes to responding to major challenges with quality. All of this, seasoned with good humor, competence and warm welcome. Extrapolating our expectations, reflections broke national barriers to extend to Latin American Nursing, perhaps worldwide.

It was with great joy that, exemplifying what was said, we received the words of the President of the Latin American Association of Schools and Colleges of Nursing, Laura Morán:

El programa acadêmico y cultural ofrecía una serie de expectativas de gran alcance que al finalizar el evento han sido ampliamente rebasadas porque he podido constatar y disfrutar de la organización, el afecto, y el liderazgo de mis colegas brasileiras y brasileiros. Convivir con ustedes en este evento permite comprender que el liderazgo es un estilo de vida, y queda demostrado que no en vano se considera a la Enfermería brasilena como líder en la Enfermería Latinoamericana. A la pregunta: ia dónde va la Enfermería brasilena?, que si me permiten la he reconvertido en ihacia dónde va la Enfermería Latinoamericana?, a travês de la diversidad de eventos que conformaron este magno evento hemos encontrado muchas oportunidades de visualizar respuestas pero tambiên nuevas preguntas, así como caminos nuevos por explorar y recorrer, fortalezas y áreas de oportunidad. Pueden estar seguras que como ALADEFE promoveremos acciones conjuntas para CONSTRUIR, junto con ABEn, los caminos que todavía nos faltan en el devenir de la Enfermería Latinoamericana, para lo cual sin duda un referente esencial es la Enfermería brasileira⁽¹⁾.¹

In addition to the event itself, the 67^th Brazilian Conference of Nursing provided an opportunity to carry out other events concurrently: the 4^th Colloquium of Latin American History of Nursing, the 2^nd Military Nursing Meeting; the Seminar on Training of Advanced Nursing Practice, proposed by the Pan American Health Organization, the Viaduct connection São Paulo, which enabled discussions on the Unified Health System, the Health Area, which led to contact with complementary therapies and the launch of the 90 years celebrations of ABEn, from October 2015 to October 2016. All of them, despite their specific area of knowledge, in one form or another, reported themselves to the central agenda.

Thus, we could not help to mention the vehement denunciations of the two current threats to the integrity and continuity of the implementation of the Unified Health System⁽²⁾. The unconditional need for defending this constitutional system materialization of the constitutional dictum "Health is a right to citizens and duty of the State"⁽³⁾ and the key for Brazilian Development of Nursing. The words of the ABEn President, during her discourse at the solemn opening session emphasized:

A prática profissional da enfermagem, bem o sabemos, depende de um sistema de saúde consistente e íntegro, que permita o desenvolvimento têcnico-científico e humanístico da área. Isto porque nossos profissionais constituem o maior contingente de exercentes da área da saúde, atuando na maior parte dos processos cuidativos. Somos responsáveis por 60 a 80% do total das ações na Atenção Básica e aproximadamente 90% das ações de saúde em geral. Isto, sem contar a nossa participação nas instituições formadoras, de pesquisa e outras. Assim, não podemos deixar de considerar que tudo o que afeta a saúde, afeta diretamente a enfermagem. Portanto, na atual conjuntura, não podemos deixar de nos indignar quando testemunhamos serem adotados subterfúgios com a finalidade de privatização da saúde que, predatoriamente, atingirá o jovem SUS e dificultará sobremaneira o acesso da população à saúde de qualidade, sem os sobregastos dos serviços privados, convênios etc. [...] Diante disso, nos perguntamos: onde se encontra o legado institucional de 1988 de que Saúde ê um Direito de Todos e Responsabilidade do Estado? Não parece contraditório, na atual conjuntura, que deveria reforçar cada vez mais este legado, vermos crescer as iniciativas de desmonte do Sistema Único de Saúde e o fortalecimento da privatização da saúde? Não parece contraditório alardear que a principal meta do sistema de saúde ê garantir a saúde para todos, quando a realidade assistencial do SUS cotidianamente nos obriga a escolher qual o paciente que receberá esta ou aquela assistência, a depender do seu custo? [...] Sim, o SUS está ameaçado e esta ameaça vem de todos os lados. E a nós, o que nos cabe fazer diante disso? Individual e coletivamente, havemos que defendê-lo incondicionalmente, exercendo um enfrentamento político consistente e eticamente significativo, sem abrir mão dos princípios e valores que tanto defendemos na nossa profissão⁽⁴⁾.²

Following this speech, many other talks emphasized the paths that Brazilian nursing went through, from its beginning to current and future days, surpassing all expectations regarding the responses to the provocative question asked "In what direction is the Brazilian Nursing going?".

Ending the conference beautifully, with a bright exhibition held at the closing session, Roseni Rosangela de Sena, discusses numerous key considerations for understanding the past, living the present and preparing the future of Brazilian Nursing, without disregarding the health context in society governed by financial and corporate capitalism. Articulating Nursing to social issues - structural, private and singular - this session provided clues to its development in favor of life. Providing a task for participants: to complement the construction of the future through collective formulation of a proposal for the millennium, complementing the contributions left by the thinker Italo Calvino⁽⁵⁾ for literature, but extended to all other dimensions of human creation. Wisely, Roseni grasps what Calvino says in literature, with considerations for Nursing. However, she said, none of this will make sense of the main reason to move us toward an ethical professional practice and committed to all our people as "every life is worth being lived with dignity"⁽⁶⁾

• 1
  The academic and cultural program offered a series of powerful expectations that were far exceeded after the event because I could find and enjoy the organization, affection, and the leadership of my Brazilian colleagues. Experiencing this event allowed us to understand that leadership is a lifestyle, and it is shown that the Brazilian Nursing is considered a leader in Latin American Nursing with good reason. To the question: In what direction is the Brazilian Nursing going?, which, if I may, I changed into In what direction is the Latin American Nursing going?, through the diversity of events that made this great conference, we have found many opportunities to find answers, but also new questions and new ways to explore and travel, strengths and areas of opportunity. You may be assured that as ALADEFE, we will promote joint actions to BUILD, along with ABEn, the roads that we still need in the future of the Latin American Nursing, for which the Brazilian Nursing is definitely an essential reference.
• 2
  The professional practice of nursing, as we know, depends on a consistent and principled health system, which allows the development of the technical-scientific and humanistic areas. This is because our professionals compose the biggest group of health practitioners, acting in most care processes. We are responsible for 60-80% of the total shares in primary care and approximately 90% of health actions in general. This, not to mention our participation in educational institutions, research and others. Therefore, we cannot ignore that whatever affects health, also directly affects nursing. Thus, at this juncture, we can be nothing but indignant when we witness actions being made for the purpose of privatization of Health that will predatorily reach the young SUS (our Unified Health System) and greatly hinder the population’s access to quality health care without the over expenditures of the private service, agreements etc. [...] Hence, we wonder: where is the institutional legacy of 1988 which stated that health is a right for all and State responsibility? It does not seem contradictory, at this paradigm, that we should strengthen this legacy, do we see disassemble initiatives of the Unified Health System growing and the strengthening of health privatization? It does not seem contradictory to highlight that the main goal of the health system is to ensure health for all, when the assistance of SUS daily reality forces us to choose which patients should receive this or that assistance, depending on the cost? [...] Yes, SUS is under threat and this threat comes from all sides. And to us, what must we do about it? Individually and collectively, we shall have to defend it unconditionally, exerting consistent and ethically significant political confrontation without giving up both principles and values that stand in our profession.
• How to cite this article: Fonseca RMGS, Fonseca AS. The challenge of the 67^th Brazilian Conference of Nursing: In what direction is the Brazilian Nursing going? Rev Bras Enferm [Internet]. 2016;69(1):7-9.

REFERÊNCIAS

• ¹
  United Nations Organization. United Nations Millenium Declaration. United Nations Information Centre [Internet]. Lisbon, 2001[cited 2015 Nov 05]; Available from: http://www.pnud.org.br/Docs/declaracao_do_milenio.pdf Portuguese.
  » http://www.pnud.org.br/Docs/declaracao_do_milenio.pdf
• ²
  Brasil. Ministério da Saúde. Sistema Único de Saúde. Princípios e conquistas. Brasília: Ministério da Saúde [Internet]. 2000[cited 2015 Nov 05]; Available from: http://bvsms.saude.gov.br/bvs/publicacoes/sus_principios.pdf
  » http://bvsms.saude.gov.br/bvs/publicacoes/sus_principios.pdf
• ³
  Brasil. Presidência da República. Constituição da República Federativa do Brasil de 1988 [Internet]. [cited 2015 Nov 05]; Available from: http://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/Constituicao/ConstituicaoCompilado.htm
  » http://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/Constituicao/ConstituicaoCompilado.htm
• ⁴
  Alvarez AM. Discurso de abertura do 67º Congresso Brasileiro de Enfermagem. In: Associação Brasileira de Enfermagem. Seção São Paulo. Anais. Congresso Brasileiro de Enfermagem, 67. São Paulo, 2015.
• ⁵
  Calvino I. Seis propostas para o próximo milênio: lições americanas. São Paulo: Companhia das Letras; 1990.
• ⁶
  Sena RR. Para onde caminha a enfermagem brasileira? Entrevista [Internet]. Belo Horizonte, 2015[cited 2015 Nov 05]. Available from: http://www.abensp.org.br/noticias/entrevista-roseni-reduzida/ .
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Publication Dates

• Publication in this collection
  Jan-Feb 2016