Reconceptualizing the Nurse-Patient Relationship

Purpose: To review assumptions inherent in the nurse‐patient relationship as historically described and practiced, and to propose an alternate framework for nurse‐patient interaction that is congruent with current health care environments. Organizing Constructs: The theory of human relatedness and the nurse‐patient relationship. Methods: Analysis of assumptions inherent in the current theoretical and empirical literature on nurse‐patient relationships and evidence from observation of nurses engaged in practice. Proposal and discussion of the theory of human relatedness as an alternative model for conceptualizing nurse‐patient relationships. Conclusions: The theory of human relatedness framework provides new insights and opportunities for assessment, intervention, and research within the context of nurse‐patient relationships.