The objective of the present study was to identify the perceptions of the third to fifth year students of the Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia de Lima's school of nursing, in connection with the areas of the School of Nursing. A descriptive study was carried out, of the qualitative type, between May an June of 2001. The four areas of the nursing School were approached in focal groups (clinic, research, teaching and management), being collected based on the principle of theoretical saturation. Interviews were recorded with prior consent. For the data analysis, it was used the Atlas/ti software. There were five focus groups of five students each: two (2) students of third year, two (2) of fourth year and one (1) of fifth year. Participants had between 19 and 26 yeard old. It was found that the clinic area was recognized as the most important, besides of being the most developed in the training process. Also, it was found a limited traininig in the research and management areas, being little known in the whole context. In general, students recognize the need for archieving an integral attention, which includes the development of the different areas of the School of Nursing, as it is important to strengthen those deficient areas in the professional formation of the School of Nursing.