The object of this study was the nurse's professional autonomy and had the following specific objectives: describe and analyze the social representations of the nurses' professional role and analyze the professional autonomy-dependence binomial. As theoretical methodological reference it was chose the Social Representations Theory. It was proceeded in-depth interviews with 30 nurses of the basic health system from a county in Rio de Janeiro state. To the data analysis it was used the Alceste 4.5 software. The software generated five classes, two express the professional formation/absorption and three the professional. Practice. The analytical categories were constituted from the dimensions in which the social representations express themselves: the conceptions, the positions and the professional practices autonomy.
Professional autonomy; Nurse's role; Profesional role; Public health nursing