12. Social Representations Theory in the Field of Nursing: Professional Autonomy, Vulnerability and Spirituality/Religiosity as Representational Objects

‘Social representations’ is a polysemic term with specific interpretations in the context of different knowledge fields, which tends to make the situation of first contact even more complex. In Brazil, the theory has been intensively used in areas such as health and education in order to aid understanding of their main objects of study, and also with a view to supporting interventions in different areas of practice. In health, nursing has gained prominence over the last few decades, given the amount of production in the area and the involvement of a large number of researchers in its study and application. From the explanation of this scenario follows the approach of three representational objects that mark, at different moments, the trajectory of a researcher in the context of the postgraduate programme in nursing at the State University of Rio de Janeiro in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.