Abstract

Aim. Explore the social representations of the historical role of Chilean nursing in people linked to this profession. Methodology. A study of social representations was carried out through the application of free lists in people linked to nursing. From the structuralist approach, the central nucleus and the peripheries of the social representation were determined, complementing it with an analysis of similarity of the words evoked and one of the discourses that support the choice of the participants, interpreted according to their lexicographic relationships. Results The central nucleus was made up of the terms: “Care”, “History”, “Management” and “Florence Nightingale”. Two main nodes were identified: “nursing” and “role”. The elements “history” and “health” showed a greater relationship with “nursing”; while “role” was linked to the execution and the management of the profession. Conclusion. Although there is a diversity of terms related to milestones in the historical role of Chilean nursing, there are elements that are not present. It is essential to reinforce the spaces for discussion and training, since the omission in matters of public policies in which the nursing discipline in Chile has been a participant throughout history is evident.