[Professional image and identity in the building of nursing knowledge]

Based on a historic qualitative study, using documental analyse we searched for the dispersions in the construction of knowledge in the articles of the Anais do Congresso Brasileiro de Enfermagem, from 1977 through 1987. The dispersions emerged as categories that repeat themselves as subjects of note or as smaller punctuation. Our analyze converged into two main categories: professional image and professional identity. These categories took the shape of a complex and dynamic network, in which there were two explicit sub-categories: professional status and professional role.