Situación de la enfermería en el desarrollo de la atención primaria en salud en Antioquia (Colombia): aproximación desde la perspectiva de los profesionales.

Objective: To understand the situation of the nursing in the development of the Primary Health Care (PHC) in Antioquia, Colombia. Methodology: It is an ethnography-focused qualitative study combining a participative observation with semi-structured interviews applied to 13 professional nurses. Results: From 2005, Antioquia is implementing a PHC strategy redesigned to include now the nursing when coping with the different obstacles caused by the configuration of the current health system; this strategy prioritize a clinical approach over the community approach and provides better working conditions. This social imagery is reproduced in the formation of the new professionals; however, the nursing professionals deem the community-based PHC work as a source of personal and professional motivation. Conclusion: The nursing practice has been a field of contention between the clinical and community-based work. The former is currently granted a better professional standing while the latter —which includes the PHC implementation— is underestimated both by the nursing guild and by the workers in general. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]