[There should be freedom in nursing]

The title of this effort has reminded us of the Inconfidência Mineira, that had José Joaquim da Silva Xavier, the Tiradentes as its leader. It was a movement that longed for freedom, like nursing that, along the years, has been building its history and has been walking in search of its autonomy. This study has aims at investigating the ways nursing has gone through, while a science, it searches for its autonomy and mediates about nurse's performance while an autonomous and creative professional. This study had the historical materialism as support. It was accomplished from May to August, 1997 with nurses from Ceará that were involved with the profession historical process. The results originated a central category, professional practice, and the other three ones: autonomy, creativity and disposition to face challenges, that favour a better comprehension about the paths nursing tracked, besides permitting us to understand that the nurse can be autonomous and free.