Teaching of therapeutic play at the undergraduate level in nursing: Didactic actions and strategies used by professors

Abstract

Objective: to present and discuss actions and strategies used by professors who teach therapeutic play in the Undergraduate Courses in Nursing. Method: qualitative research, that used symbolic interactionism as its theoretical framework, and Grounded Theory as its methodological framework. The scenario was the courses involving the theoretical-practical teaching of pediatric nursing, included in the curriculums of the Undergraduate Courses in Nursing. A total of 18 lecturers and three nurses participated, all involved in the process of teaching therapeutic play in the theoretical-practical scenario. Data were collected through participant observation and semistructured interviews. Results: it was revealed that the mobilization of the professors to teach therapeutic play in the Undergraduate Courses is permeated by a constant concern with offering and promoting significant learning to the student. They seek to do this through teaching strategies that involve: dramatization of therapeutic play sessions, the recovery of infancy and of playing, the use of audiovisual resources that raise awareness of learning, realistic simulation as innovation, the extending of possibilities of using Therapeutic Play, the re-presenting of therapeutic play to the student at the start of the practical activity, the providing of material for this practice, and the inclusion of the issue in the assessment process. Conclusion: the results contribute to assisting the lecturers in the task of awakening and introducing the student to the universe of therapeutic play, promoting her learning and systematic incorporation into academic life and, in the future, as a nurse, when she shall promote the inclusion of therapeutic play in the care provided to the child-in order to preserve and protect the child’s right to receive qualified care.