Influences of the Anglo-American Teaching System in Brazil: Contributions by the Parsons Mission (1921-1925)

Abstract

The Brazilian first republic sought to organize society and amplify its potential for political and economic development, an objective hindered by the precarious health conditions of a population devastated by epidemics. An alliance between Brazil and the United States, mediated by the Rockefeller Foundation, gave birth to the arrival of Ethel Parsons in Brazil and the Parsons Mission, which developed strategies to implant a model for raising the standards of nursing in Brazil. This article offers background information about the Parsons Mission, and discusses its impact in public health and nursing education. History shows that the creation and organization of a public nursing health service, in addition to a nursing school based on Anglo-American models, were successful strategies in the construction of a new professional identity for nurses and for the recognition of nursing as a female profession.