Leadership development of nursing students in a material and sterilization center.

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the experiences of Nursing students during the mandatory hospital internship at a Material and Sterilization Center with a focus on leadership development. METHOD: This is an experience report of a mandatory hospital curricular internship anchored in the national curricular guidelines for Nursing, of a descriptive-reflective nature, and carried out in a general university hospital in southern Brazil, from March to June 2019. RESULTS: Activities were developed in order to develop leadership aspects such as people, orthotics and prosthetics management, surgical planning, conflict management, and assertive communication. FINAL CONSIDERATIONS: The mandatory hospital curricular internship at the Material and Sterilization Center favored the students in the leadership process, management, decision-making, and development of autonomy for leading nurses.