The Nurse-Patient Relationship Reconsidered: An Expanded Research Agenda

This article examines gaps in the available research on the nurse-patient relationship and proposes an expanded research agenda. The author\u27s previous research comparing the physician-patient relationship in holistic health to traditional medical practice is reviewed and then contrasted with the literature describing the nurse-patient relationship. Five dimensions of the relationship are examined: affectivity, specificity, status differential, placebo salience, and trust. Most of the existing research in nursing focuses on the dimension of affectivity. Further empirical data on how each of these components is enacted in concrete clinical encounters is needed. Beyond expanding our understanding of each dimension, comparing them to equivalent attributes in other prominent models of provider-client relationships can provide further insight into those complex processes

The Nurse-Client Relationship in a Stress Management Clinic

The methodological perspective of symbolic interactionism and interpretive research emphasizes the complexity and importance of the nurse-client relationship. In a nurse-managed stress management clinic, 18 clients were interviewed at various points during their treatment trajectory, along with 6 clinicians. Clients and providers were emphatic about the importance of a broad, holistic perspective. Spiritual aspects were discussed, but not prominently. Status differential was minimized; however, this did not make participants define the relationship as less professional. The importance of trust was a key element in the nurse-client relationship