Santa Maria School of Health (1952-2022)

The Santa Maria School of Health (ESSSM), owned by the Portuguese Province of the Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady, is the direct heir of the School of Nursing of the Franciscan Sisters of Calais, established in 1949. The latter was created in response to the need for better training beyond the almost exclusively practical instruction previously given to sister nurses who, at Santa Maria Hospital, in Porto, dedicated themselves to the sick and needy, albeit without professional recognition. This project aimed to outline this history, addressing topics such as the academic institutionalization of the School in 1952; the provision of its own building in the annexes of Santa Maria Hospital in 1960; the gradual process of the School's autonomy from the Hospital in the following decades; the creation of the first higher nursing course in 1991; and the transformations over the past two decades, including the introduction of new undergraduate and postgraduate programs in the field of Health. The research was completed and delivered to the ESSSM in 2022 and the work was published in 2023.

Funding: Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady

Coordination: Fernando de Sousa and Diogo Ferreira

Duration: 2018-2023