Bachelor in Nursing (1980) specialized in Paediatric Nursing (1987), Master in Nursing Sciences (1994) and PhD in Contemporary Philosophy (2003) with a thesis on Vulnerability and Respect in the Care of Others. Taught at the Imaculada Conceição Nursing School for 25 years and moved on to the Catholic University with the integration of that school. She was a member of the Installation Commission of the Nurses Guild and Chairwoman of the National Jurisdictional Council of 1999-2003.
Associate Professor at the Health Institute of Sciences of the Universidade Católica Portuguesa (UCP) and, since 2005, has coordinated the PhD program in Nursing at UCP and is also the Assistant Director of the Institute of Health Sciences and Dean of the School of Nursing in Porto.