A SELECTION OF NURSES TO
BECOME OFFICERS OF THE MILITARY POLICE OF THE STATE OF
Marcleyde Silva de
Azevedo Abreu1, Alexandre Barbosa de Oliveira1, Maria
Angélica de Almeida Peres1, Gertrudes Teixeira Lopes1,
Antonio José Almeida Filho1, Tânia Cristina Franco Santos1
1Federal University of Rio de Janeiro
ABSTRACT
This is a historical-social study. Objective: to describe the process of
selection of the first class of officers nurses of the Assistant Health
Framework in Military Police of the Rio de Janeiro`s State, in 1994. Historical
sources: written documents and interviews with officers nurses belonging to the
first class of the Assistant Health Framework. The findings were organized,
classified and contextualized in accordance with the historical method. The
analysis of the data had the theoretical reference of Pierre Bourdieu`s Theory
of the Social World. Results: The
rigor of the selective process has led to the inclusion of candidates suitable
for the incorporation of a habitus military that, in the last instance,
represented the possibility of learning a habitus appropriate future
social position.
Keywords: Nursing; History of Nursing; Military Nursing.
INTRODUCTION
In the early 1990s, the City of
Furthermore, the increase in the number of
militaries in the Corporation through such tenders also demanded the need to
extend medical and hospital care to the militaries and dependents of newly
arrived soldiers2, which would possibly increase even more the
number of visits to the military police hospitals and consequently, aggravate
the problem of insufficient number of health professionals, particularly nurses
and mid-level staff.
Thus, in 1993, the governor of the State of
The selection process for the first group of
officers nurse was published in the State Official Gazette of Rio de Janeiro on
March 8,
The notice of the tender of Admission for Second
Lieutenant Nurse, of the Board of Health of PMERJ (1994) determined the
following requirements: “be a military policeman of the Corporation or a
military in active service from other Armed Forces, or a civilian who is
updated with military service, be a Brazilian citizen born in Brazil;
candidates of both genders; possess an entry in the Regional Nursing Council,
not to face charges or criminal and or administrative investigation and not
have been convicted at any time for a felony or transgression, in a final
judgment; have authorization from the respective authorities to participate in
the tender; have a maximum hierarchical degree as a second lieutenant, if
military; if reservist, have been excluded from the last military organization
with the concept 'good', at least, be up to 34 years of age on December 31,
1994, except the military; collect the registration fee at any of any BANERJ
branch in favor of Foundation School of Public Service FESP-RJ, and keep up
with compulsory voting"5.
The evaluation process was conducted in two
successive stages, with an eliminatory character, except for the proof of
titles that was qualifying. The first stage consisted of assessing nursing
expertise, with a written exam, containing 30 objective questions and 10
discursive questions. On the second stage there was a practical oral exam on
nursing technical procedures.
For health examination, the candidate was subjected
to an evaluation by a Board of Health Inspection of the corporation5.
Once approved in the elimination stages, the candidates were subjected to
physical sufficiency examinations. At this stage, the Physical Aptitude Test,
which included physical assessment with race tests, sit-ups and push-ups, was
carried.
The selection process also included psychological analysis, whose
examination aimed to eliminate candidates who did not have the profile to
follow a career in the Military Police. The social examination, which was the
last stage of the tender, included Social Research, which comprised the
completion of questionnaires by the candidate, endeavor, interviews and request for
information about them. Therefore, the social research aimed at verifying,
"in loco", the behavior and reliability of the candidate6.
It may gather from the above that the tender for the entry of nurses in
the Military Police officer corps was long and extremely strict. And to study
the problems that involved it, we have drawn the following objective: to
analyze the selection process the first group the officers nurse from the
Auxiliary Board of Health in the Military Police of Rio de Janeiro.
The social relevance of this study lies in the possibility of
disseminating scientific production on the inclusion of nurses in the military
field, especially with regard to the presence of women on a bicentennial
scenario and traditionally devoted to men.
Theoretical
and methodological approach
This is a social-historical study, whose primary
sources are composed of written and oral testimonies of officers nurse
belonging to the first group of Health Assistant Table of PMERJ. Male officers
were excluded. Ten semi-structured interviews were conducted, in the period
from October to December 2010, at locations and times scheduled in accordance
with the preferences of the people interviewed. At the time, all the
arrangements were made for the compliance with the guidelines of Resolution No.
196/96, the National Board of Health. Furthermore, the project that originated
this study was approved by the Ethics and Research Committee of the School of
Nursing Anna Nery/Hospital School São Francisco de Assis/UFRJ on August 31,
2010, through Protocol No. 085/2010. The secondary sources, consisting of
articles and books, theses and dissertations on the subject, con-substantiated
the analysis of data derived from the study of the primary sources, which
constituted the documentary corpus.
ste is a social-historical study, whose primary
sources are composed of written and oral testimonies of officers belonging to
the first class of nurses Framework Assistant Health of PMERJ. Male officers were
excluded. Ten semi-structured interviews were conducted, in the period from
October to December 2010, at scheduled times and locations in accordance with
the preferences of the people interviewed. At the time, all the arrangements
were made for the compliance with the guidelines of Resolution No. 196/96, of
the National Board of Health. Furthermore, the project that gave rise to this
study was approved by the Ethics Committee and Research of the School of
Nursing Anna Nery/Hospital School São Francisco de Assis/UFRJ on August 31,
2010, through Protocol No. 085/2010. The secondary sources, consisting of
articles and books, theses and dissertations on the subject, consubstantiated
the analysis of the data derived from the primary sources of the study, which
constituted the corpus of documents.
Data were organized, classified and contextualized
in accordance with the historical method. However the analysis of the data had
as its theoretical reference the thinking of the French sociologist Pierre
Bourdieu, especially with regard to the concepts of habitus, symbolic power,
symbolic violence and male domination.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The motivations for entering the officer corps of the Military Police of
Rio de Janeiro
The
tender for the admission of nursing officers in PMERJ, in 1994, attracted
nurses who sought work in an institution that offers financial security and
stability. Several reasons led to the choice of nurses for officer positions in
the Military Police of Rio de Janeiro. In the excerpt of one of the interviews
one can perceive part of the motivations:
Well, what
motivated me was not the fact that I like the hospital. My motivation arose
from the promotion because, as a civil nurse, I was stagnant. I felt constrained
for remaining in a military hospital, because my colleagues were able to
achieve higher positions, and it was a situation in which I felt discredited.
But it was not the fact that I liked the hospital that led me to search the
tender, but the financial motivation and the social status. (INT. # 1)
The interviewee
reveals her perceptions on the difficulties of professional growth in the
condition of a civilian in a military institution. The prohibition of a
civilian nurse in a military hospital shows that the structures that constitute
the field reproduce their standards and hierarchies and in this sense, where
agents have no other choice, but to fight to maintain or improve their position
in the field, that is, "to maintain
or increase their capital" 7. Another testimony highlights the
interviewee's accession to the mystique of the military institution, stating
that the pillars of the military police were already part of your lifestyle:
It was
my first job and I fell in love for the place. Issues related to discipline and
hierarchy that are the pillars of the Military Police were also part of my life
style. These values were
rooted in me and I learned them with my family. I used to think it was very
beautiful and I also nourished the dream of contributing to
this new perspective of the institution, which was to have more harmony and
grow. Bring nursing to another level, another condition of the corporation
itself, which was my school and my life lesson as well ... I got married there.
There I had my children. So I have affection for the PM in every way, ...
emotional, personal ... (INT.#3)
The analysis of these words
highlights the incorporation of a domesticated language, that is, of the
censorship that was transformed into nature, the
internalization of the necessary arrangements for the official nurse, because
the effects exerted by new experiences on the habitus of the candidates depend on the practical
compatibility relationship between these experiences and the others that are
already integrated into the habitus.
However, another
interviewee, who already belonged to the institution as a member of the nursing
team and as a military, records motivations that show that the nursing diploma
and the officer rank work as a kind of credential, which grant its bearer
greater possibilities in the field, since the social titles of credit (academic
degrees, diplomas) provide social positions to which access is obtained through
these titles8.
I
developed the motivations for two, three years or so, when there was the first
group of corporal nurses. I realized that there was a need, I had this
experience out there, and there was a need for a nurse to direct nursing
actions. We had the presence of some nurses who were civilians, some graduated nurses
and, here at the institution, they did nursing services, so to speak. They did
bureaucratic service. Nursing practice itself was adrift. That began to bother
me. At that time I was doing graduation in nursing, and had different ideas,
another mindset, another vision. I could see that it was not satisfying me. I
saw it was an opportunity to grow, since I was already corporal. I could be
approved and become an officer in the same institution. (INT. No. 4)
It is worth
emphasizing the term "so to speak" which the interviewee uses when
referring to the quality of nursing services. This expression contributes to
that word, so that it does not mean what it seems to mean, putting it in
disbelief by imposing a categorical rupture between the sacred and profane knowledge in
order to preserve the monopoly of a knowledge or practice9.
In general, the different
motivations presented by the interviewees converged insofar as it concerns to
finding a stable job, the possibility of social climbing and admiration
for the military career. To compete for a place in this Framework they needed
to spend time for preparing themselves for the many steps of the exams. In this
sense, the selection process itself represented the possibility of choosing the
candidate with the predispositions necessary for the incorporation of the
military habitus. Therefore, the competition was designed to select those who
could be seen and believed as suitable for the incorporation of things and
military practices that, ultimately, would represent the learning of a habitus
appropriate to a new social rank.
The selection process for
officership
Certainly, the time invested by the
candidates for a successful participation in the various steps required greater
dedication and contributed to the selection of the most qualified candidates.
This effort is expressed by one of the interviewees:
Well, I
didn’t have a specific book or handout. Graziela and I studied together and we
wanted to pass. We did not admit not passing in the tender. We studied every
day and prepared our material. In my mind and in the nurse's there was not a
chance of not being approved, as we had gone through so many things together
... Then the so expected day came and we were very anxious, because we had to
show we were good in order to avoid nasty comments that we would be benefited.
Many of our colleagues failed still in the first phase, which corresponded to
the written test. Immediately after, there was the second phase with practical
tests. (INT. # 1)
Thus, it is understood that, "the
opportunities that agents have to submit themselves to the laws of the field is
proportional to their strength on the field,"10, that is, the
possession of the appreciated capital in the field. Moreover, what was at stake
was a place for officer position in an military institution, which represented
the opportunity to reclassify agents (nurses) who already worked in the
institution, whether as a civilian or as military nurse. In this sense, the
tender for officer nurses of the Military Police was very important for these
candidates for representing the possibility of empowering in the institution
through the visibility of their professional capital, since "it is the
structure of objective relations between agents that determines what they can
and cannot do,"10, that is, it is the position occupied by the
agents in this structure that determines or directs their positions.
The excerpt with the words of another
interviewee confirms the previous one concerning the severity and duration of
the selection process, adding her perplexity about the psychological
examination and social research:
First
it was an objective test, then an oral test and then, there was a psycho-technical
exam with over 300 questions that were repeated, from 20 to 20 and then from 10
to 10 ... It was the same question asked in different ways to uncover your
personal profile. How you would see yourself as a person. I think it was this
way to catch a liar. I remember it perfectly because a friend of mine, who did
it, didn't pass, and she really was a great liar. Then, when she tried this
contest, the process was interrupted because it was precisely in the stage of
the psycho-technical test that she failed. There were several questions; there
was a Social Research. I remember that, during this search, they went to the
INCA to ask about me, and this was the last step, and it was a surprise for me;
I didn't know the social research was done that way. (INT. No. 2)
Thus, at the time
we sought to safeguard the image of the institution, the image of the new group
was also guarded, through the selection of candidates whose personal and
moral dispositions would make it suitable for the incorporation of a
habitus attuned to the military values
and virtues. In this process, we sought to certify the previous social
behavior of the candidates, in order to try to ensure the observance of
attributes that were consistent with the expectations of the Force11-12.
Therefore, the success in the contest would place the candidates in a separate
and distinguishing position, since it would give visibility not only to their
professional capital, but also its social capital13. Concerning the
rigor of the tests, one of the interviewees compares the approval at each stage
of the tender as the crowning of the best:
The
selection process is complex. It is not a competition like any other, in which
you do a test and you are qualified to take a position. It is a process that
involves several stages such as objective test, physical and
psychological examination... So it's a long process, very stressful,
because you get very anxious and also because at every stage you see people
being eliminated, and you get insecure... 'Will I be the next eliminated? (INT.
No. 9)
Indeed, the dispute over
the classification was encouraged among competitors to ensure them top-rated
classification at the end of the process, and for the institution, the
incorporation of those who have achieved better results. It appears from the
statements that the need for approval follows the logic of the pretense of the
properties of the dominants, which contribute to ensuring positions of power
and social prestige. Thus, the struggle for these positions represents the
perpetual movement of the agents in several social spaces, because,
"unless they exclude themselves from the game, the agents have no choice,
but to fight to maintain themselves or improve their position in the field, I
mean, to maintain or increase the specific capital that is generated only in the
field, thus contributing to weigh on the others the constraints often
experienced as unbearable, originated in the competition”7.
The candidates expressed
some difficulties in relation to the medical examination:
Wow...
it was horrible. It was here on the second floor of the old building, in a room
with a gynecologist, general surgeon, clinical doctor and obstetrician. We
could barely stand in the room. First the orthopedist asked us to try to touch our
foot and, between one thing and another, the surgeon arrived and, with a fast
movement, dropped our pants. Underneath we were using panties and bra as
underwear. He dropped it until the height in which he could examine us to see
if we had hernia. That gesture was a shock, because we did not expect him to do
it this way. There was a crowd waiting outside and five came at a time.
When we left, it immediately generated a feeling of revolt. Subsequently, we
moved on to the otolaryngologist and ophthalmologist, but it was not in the
same room; it was in a different location. What I can say about the medical
examination is that it was actually horrible for the embarrassment we had after
the fact, because we did not expect him to do this. I was opening my camisole
normally... and he arrived and did this sudden movement. I don't remember if
the complaint continued after the entry of the second group, because the group
was too big and I can't remember if there was a change in the following groups.
As evidenced in this and
other interviews, the way used to examine the body of the candidates, according
to the perception of the interviewees, reproduces symbolically the male
domination to which they were subjected through the doctor's brusque gesture,
when exposing the region to be examined. It is also noteworthy the collective
character regarding the number of candidates and the presence of physicians of
several specialties. It should also be noted that, during the examination, the
candidates did not show any reaction as to the attitude of the surgeon. That's
because the exercise of symbolic violence by the dominant relies on the
contribution of the dominated, either in absentia or even against their will,
through the tacit acceptance of domination14.
With regard to the symbolic
violence still in the selection process, another interviewee also reports
embarrassment, adding that:
The
medical examination was another very stressful evaluation for the group because
they did not organize themselves to receive this large number of women. During
the examination, there were some interruptions because of the lack of privacy.
We had to report to the Director. Then their behaviors became normal. (INT. #
3)
The snippet above shows
both her embarrassment as well as the other candidates during the medical
examination, adding that the lack of prior information about the conditions of
the test has resulted in unnecessary exposure of the body of the candidates. Despite
the embarrassment, all candidates underwent the examination, showing a
"paradoxical logic of male domination and female submission, namely, the
subjection of domination spontaneously, and at the same time, extorted"7,
since the candidates were subjected spontaneous and mandatorily to the
conditions established for the examination. This demonstrates the incorporation
of female measures perfectly adjusted to the prevailing social order, which
places women in positions of disadvantage compared to men (doctors and
military) in that social space.
However, another section
highlights the lack of awareness about the unfavorable conditions for the candidates
during the completion of the medical examination:
After
laboratory tests, we went through a medical board. There were clinical
physicians, orthopedists. First the clinical physician checked the blood
pressure. He gave more emphasis to it. After that, now with the historical
data, came the orthopedist and also the other doctors… What called my attention
mostly was the clinical physician and the orthopedist. For me, it was a very
relaxed examination, because there were several nurses. First, we went through
the clinician and then the orthopedist. That's what called my attention mostly.
I don't think it was embarrassing, in fact, it was quiet. It was respectful. I
do not remember anything... (INT. No. 6)
This position reaffirms the
existence of a "magic boundary between the dominant and the dominated, in
which the magic of a symbolic power is triggered and by which the dominated
contribute"7, tacitly accepting the symbolic force exerted
directly on the bodies, as if by magic, without any physical coercion, since
the internal rules were harmonized with the domination imposed.
CONCLUSION
We may conclude from the
above that the nature and rigor of the selection process aimed at selecting
candidates suitable for the incorporation of military practices and issues that
ultimately represented the learning of a habitus that is appropriate to the new
social rank.
Such a situation featured
the use of devices that well reiterated the need for those future officers to
be attuned in compliance with a practice grounded in the purposes of
militarized spaces, where discipline and hierarchy, which are their bases of
support, should be internalized and reproduced (through time) both in their way
of being/doing, and in their own speeches.
By the end of this study,
it was possible to develop a historical version about some aspects concerning
the entry of women in the officer corps of the military police. However, it is
important to continue the studies so that we can deepen our understanding about
the simultaneous processes of professionalization of women and nursing, specially
the female presence in military scenarios. Moreover, the versions and
interpretations herein developed are no more than temporary truths, as the
experience is unrecoverable.
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