[Representations of health professionals about death and the dying process]

The curricula of the health area leave a gap in the theoretical and practical formation, allowing the interpretation of death as failure. This is a qualitative research of exploratory nature. The subjects were five health professionals who provide care to patients without cure possibilities. To analyze the data, it was used the software Alceste. From the analysis of the interviews two distinct axes had emerged: the first axis consists of classes that relate to the size of the professional front to death; the second axis refers to the subjective dimension in front of death. The results reveal the need to invest in the training of students not only in the development of technical skills, but also in the development of interpersonal skills, key elements in human care, especially on death.