title: Professional Master's degree in Nursing: knowledge production and challenges.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  to analyze the production of knowledge resulting from the professional master's degree programs in Nursing and to reflect about their perspectives for the area.
  
  
  METHODS
  descriptive and analytical study. Data collected from the dissertations of three educational institutions that graduated students in programs of professional master's degree in Nursing between 2006 and 2012 were included.
  
  
  RESULTS
  most of the 127 course completion studies analyzed were developed within hospital contexts; there was a focus on the organizational and healthcare areas, in the research fields care process and management, and predominance of qualitative studies. There are various products resulting from the course completion studies: evaluation of services/healthcare programs and development of processes, care or educational protocols.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  the programs of professional master's degree in Nursing, which are undergoing a consolidation stage, have recent production under development and there is a gap in the creation of hard technologies and innovation. They are essential for the development of innovative professional practices that articulate the healthcare and educational areas.
authors.affiliation: Faculdade de Enfermagem, Universidade Federal de Goiás, Goiânia, GO, Brazil.
authors.forename: Denize Bouttelet
authors.initials: DB
authors.lastname: Munari
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Enfermagem, Faculdade de Medicina de Botucatu, Universidade Estadual Paulista Júlio de Mesquita Filho, Botucatu, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Cristina Maria Garcia de Lima
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Parada
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Enfermagem, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, SC, Brazil.
authors.forename: Francine de Lima
authors.initials: Fde L
authors.lastname: Gelbcke
authors.affiliation: Escola de Enfermagem Aurora de Afonso Costa, Universidade Federal Fluminense, Niterói, RJ, Brazil.
authors.forename: Zenith Rosa
authors.initials: ZR
authors.lastname: Silvino
authors.affiliation: Faculdade de Enfermagem, Universidade Federal de Goiás, Goiânia, GO, Brasil.
authors.forename: Luana Cássia Miranda
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Ribeiro
authors.affiliation: Escola de Enfermagem de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Carmen Gracinda Silvan
authors.initials: CG
authors.lastname: Scochi
mesh_terms: D001938:Brazil; D004511:Education, Nursing, Graduate; D015399:Nursing Research