“What the pandemic left us”: nurses in the achievement of the Law for the Regulation of Practice in the province of Córdoba.

Abstract

The main objective of this article is to analyse the process of struggle that led to the 10.780 Nursing Regulatory Practice Law in the province of Cordoba, approved by the Legislative Chamber on september, 22th, 2021. Although the COVID-19 crisis had negative consequences for Cordoba´s nurses in the context of a national legislation that did not consider them as health professionals, this situation was turned into a political opportunity for change. In that direction, Córdoba´s nursing professionals reactivated different demands in order to obtain legal instruments for the regulatory of nursing activities, looking to achieve a hierarchical status and autonomy for the sector.

We recover the experiences and perspectives of a group of Córdoba´s nurses, protagonists of this Enterprise, showing that although the recognition of the priority role assumed by nursing within the COVID-19 health emergency, led to greater openness on some province actors with responsibilities for the demands. The achievements of the new law can be explained by the actions and strategies of these protagonists, who faced different interests that permeated the state agenda, limiting the ongoing professionalisation process.