The ethical component of professional competence in nursing: An analysis

The purpose of this article is to initiate a philosophical discussion about the ethical component of professional competence in nursing from the perspective of Brazilian nurses. Specifically, this article discusses professional competence in nursing practice in the Brazilian health context, based on two different conceptual frameworks. The first framework is derived from the idealistic and traditional approach while the second views professional competence through the lens of historical and dialectical materialism theory. The philosophical analyses show that the idealistic view of professional competence differs greatly from practice. Combining nursing professional competence with philosophical perspectives becomes a challenge when ideals are opposed by the reality and implications of everyday nursing practice.

Generic drugs in Brazil: historical overview and legislation

The Brazilian generic drugs policy was implemented in 1999 with the aim of stimulating competition in the market, improve the quality of drugs and improve the access of the population to drug treatment. The process of implementing this policy allowed the introduction and discussion of concepts that had never before been used in the context of drug registration in Brazil: bioavailability, bioequivalence, pharmaceutical equivalence, generic drugs, biopharmaceutical classification system, biowaiver. The present article provides definitions for these concepts in the context of Brazilian legislation as well as a historical and chronological description of the implementation of the generic drugs policy in Brazil, including a list of current generic drug legislation. This article contributes to the understanding of the Brazilian generic drugs policy and facilitates the search for information concerning the legal requirements for registration of drugs in Brazil.

Rationalization, Kunstwollen and technical means of expressivity. The example of the romantic piano

This article seeks to retrace some of the empirical, historical and sociological elements of Max Weber Sociology of music. Even if he is first and foremost interested in the process of rationalisation throughout western civilisation, his Sociology of music is founded on the idea of the technical medium, which he explores in several different directions. This idea will be examined here by means of several examples drawn from western music, particularly from the romantic piano repertoire.

Robotic Surgery: History and Teaching Impact

Context: The purpose of this article is to review the history of robotic surgery, its impact on teaching as well as a description of historical and current robots used in the medical arena. Summary of evidence: Although the history of robots dates back to 2000 years or more, the last two decades have seen an outstanding revolution in medicine, due to all the changes that robotic surgery has made in the way of performing, teaching and practicing surgery. Conclusions: Robotic surgery has evolved into a complete and self-contained field, with enormous potential for future development. The results to date have shown that this technology is capable of providing good outcomes and quality care for patients. (C) 2011 AEU. Published by Elsevier Espana, S.L. All rights reserved.