Objective:
To analyze inter-professional relationships in the Brazilian Navy from 1980 to 1997.
Methods:
Social-historical research based on written documents and interviews with eight military nurses who belonged to the Naval Corps Women's Auxiliary Reserve (CAFRM).
Results:
Two categories emerged from data analysis: the beginning of everything - civilian nurses and their relationships with military nurses; and inter-professional relationships in the Brazilian Navy - from older military officers to modern ones.
Conclusion:
The feminization process in the Navy was always imbricated with power struggles, both on the part of the civilian nurses and on the part of the other members of the institution. Acknowledgment and respect were only achieved at all the levels of the hierarchy because the military nurses incorporated the institution's principles.
Women; Military nursing; Gender identity