[Elements making up the identity of the nurse in descriptions expressed by graduating students]

Identity is usually conceived by choosing a series of characteristics which should be truly considered a person's own; it searches to fulfill needs that other way would stop individuals to build their own destinies. We aimed to apprehend the nurse's identity built by a group of Nursing undergraduate students. It was used a qualitative approach. "Care" was the word mostly used by the students while trying to explain what means to be a nurse. However, few of them could define the meaning of this care. From the students' speeches, we verified that the nurse is very related to the practical work, despite the fact that they affirm it to be an intellectual work. Another point discussed in this article is that the students do not mention the professors influence while building their perception of nurses.