The objective of this study is to analyze the bibliographic production relative to the historical studies carried out in Nursing Graduate Programs from 1972 to 2004. It is a documental research of 126 abstracts that have historical study characteristics. The content analysis resulted in four categories: the professional identity and institutionalization of nursing; nursing schools; nursing specialties; and organizational entities in nursing. The results point out that a quantitative majority of the studies concern nursing specialties, demonstrating that care practice is the invested focus of most research. Other frequent themes were: power relationships, genre, knowledge, and the professionalization and institutionalization of nursing, which evidence questioning surrounding contemporary problems. We conclude that scientific production of historical studies of nursing in Brazil is still budding. This proves the necessity for strengthening this line of research, seeking the historical constituents that answer the contemporary challenge of comprehending professional construction as well as care practice in nursing.
Nursing; History; History of nursing