How Does Professional Habitus Impact Nursing Autonomy? A Hermeneutic Qualitative Study Using Bourdieu’s Framework

Abstract:.. introduction In the professional practice of nursing, differences have been described between the habitus shared in the academic training process and the professional practice developed in the field of health systems; in this scenario, nurses tend to be affected by how their professional habitus has been established, which, in some way, alters the cultural capital established in their academic training process. The research objective was to identify aspects that facilitate and limit the development of the theoretical component in nursing practice. Method: The research was based on a qualitative hermeneutic study addressed from a critical approach that linked Bourdieu's field theory. The study included 17 students, 11 nurses active in health services, and six university professors. Data were collected from a sociodemographic questionnaire, episodic interviews, and focus groups. The information collected was analyzed using the hermeneutic understanding process from the grounded theory. Results: The research revealed a central thematic core called clarification of the role of the nurse (professional habitus) and three secondary thematic cores related to the need to strengthen the nursing essence (identity habitus), the adjustment of training processes (optimization habitus) and, finally, the strengthening of the nurse's credibility (validation habitus). Conclusion: The professional habitus of nursing professionals is shaped by different elements of the social field of the health system. This field is repressed by hierarchical structures that succeed in disconnecting theory from praxis. Aspects such as subordination to the hegemonic biological discourse and the medical profession, the limited appreciation of humanized care, restrictions on the recognition of the nursing process by health institutions, and limited solidarity and leadership end up conditioning the accumulation of symbolic capital and social capital of nursing, which leads to the loss of autonomy and the advancement of professional development.