The comforting interaction: developing a model of nurse-patient relationship

In this article we argue that the separate literatures on the nurse-patient interaction and the nurse-patient relationship artificially fragment a unified process, and a model incorporating both interaction and relationship is critically needed. The Comforting Interaction-Relationship Model, in which the nurse-patient interaction is proposed as a means for the nurse and the patient to negotiate and establish a desired therapeutic relationship is presented. Nursing actions are described as three interrelated levels: 1) comforting strategies, or separate discrete actions which together form nurses' styles of care, 2) styles of care, or sets of comforting strategies, and 3) patterns of relating, or normative, professional behaviors. These three processes are provided in response to patient signals of distress, indices of discomfort, and patterns of relating that form patient actions. It is through this interaction of nursing actions and patient actions that the nurse-patient relationship is negotiated. This model is patient-led, dynamic, interactive, and context dependent. Even though the model is driven by the patient's behavioral state, actions, and reactions, both the nurse and the patient maintain control--the nurse selects the strategy or style to be used, and the patient, in negotiating, relinquishing, and accepting care, maintains control. Suggestions for future research are presented.