title: Learning Incubator: an instrument to foster entrepreneurship in Nursing.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  this study aimed to know the contributions of the Learning Incubator to the process of lifelong education in health.
  
  
  METHODS
  this is a qualitative field research whose data was collected from August to December 2014 by the focus group technique. The research had 34 employees of a Teaching Hospital in the central region of the state of Rio Grande do Sul that participated previously in the incubation process.
  
  
  RESULTS
  from the data encoded by content analysis, three themes were selected: Learning Incubator - welcoming and integrating space; An instigating instrument that enhances possibilities; Continuous and lifelong education strategy.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  the Learning Incubator is an important instrument to foster entrepreneurship in nursing and other health areas due to its capacity of rethinking mechanized practices, to the possibility of instigating new ways of being and acting, and to the ability of creating and developing new ideas based on individual and institutional needs.
authors.affiliation: Curso de Enfermagem, Centro Universitário Franciscano, Santa Maria, RS, Brasil.
authors.forename: Dirce Stein
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Backes
authors.affiliation: Curso de Enfermagem, Centro Universitário Franciscano, Santa Maria, RS, Brasil.
authors.forename: Marielle Kulakowski
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Obem
authors.affiliation: Centro Universitário Franciscano, Santa Maria, RS, Brasil.
authors.forename: Simone Barbosa
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: Pereira
authors.affiliation: Hospital Casa de Saúde, Associação Franciscana de Assistência à Saúde, Santa Maria, RS, Brasil.
authors.forename: Carine Alves
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Gomes
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Enfermagem, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, SC, Brasil.
authors.forename: Marli Terezinha Stein
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Backes
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Enfermagem, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, SC, Brasil.
authors.forename: Alacoque Lorenzini
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Erdmann
mesh_terms: D016520:Entrepreneurship; D017144:Focus Groups; D006801:Humans; D007858:Learning; D009729:Nursing / Q000639:trends*; D036301:Qualitative Research