Supervised internship in undergraduate nursing courses in the State of São Paulo, Brazil

OBJECTIVE: to analyze how nursing courses in the State of São Paulo, Brazil have operationalized the supervised curricular internship and to identify those that approach the recommendations proposed by the National Curriculum Guidelines. METHOD: a quantitative, descriptive-exploratory study. The sample consisted of 38 course coordinators. The data collection instrument was developed based on the Curricular Guidelines. Data collection took place electronically and, for data analysis, descriptive and inferential statistics were used. RESULTS: the undergraduate schools have developed internships for a mean of 860.4 hours in primary and tertiary care settings, with learning based on professional practice being the main teaching method. Formative assessment is the predominant mode of assessment, and nurses from health institutions participate in 44.7% of courses. The mean score obtained was 3.1 points (scale from 1 to 5), with the evaluation processes used being the most influential factor (p<0.001). CONCLUSION: the courses have partially met the educational legislation regarding the hours and participation of professionals from health institutions granting internship field, which can compromise the quality of training and the safety of care.