Nursing teaching has been characterized by constant discussions on pedagogical proposals and implementation of curricular changes. The aim of this study was to reflect on nursing students' experience related to their first contacts with the profession, considering traditional perspectives and current tendencies that imprint values and attitudes in learning and practice. Nowadays, the complexity of human beings and the environment they live in is considered within a biopsychosocial, economic and cultural context, constituting resources that allow for the formation of competent professionals in order to deal with the challenges of the XXIst century. Thus, nursing schools have to follow a teaching philosophy to form trained people to attend to local and regional demands and are socially committed to change. What is aimed for is participative learning, in which teacher and student, articulated in the knowledge improvement process, do not forget about humanitarian views.