EPISTEMOLOGICAL AND ETHICAL CHALLENGES FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF NURSING IN THE LATIN AMERICAN CONTEXT

ABSTRACT Objective: To reflect on the epistemological and ethical challenges for the development of nursing as a professional discipline in the Latin American context. Method: A theoretical reflection on the epistemological and ethical challenges for the development of nursing as a professional discipline in the Latin American context, through the analysis of elements that, according to scientific literature, shape and influence this development. Results: The academic field is pointed out as a strategic space to study and intervene if what is intended is to analyze the differentiated progress that nursing has had according to the context, and it is recognized that these spaces, such as nursing training schools, are where the discussions that have supported the most significant developments of nursing as a professional discipline have been led with greater force. Conclusions: At the Latin American level, there are countries, such as Ecuador, in which the development of nursing as a professional discipline is still scarce compared to its neighboring countries, given that it must strengthen some elements that are essential to achieve this status.