In search of a caring relationship - Nursing students' notions of interactions in the nurse-patient relationship.

The aim of the study is to explore how nursing students talks about their notions on interactions in the relationship between nurse and patient. Empirical data has been obtained from 22 students in their first semester of the Swedish undergraduate nursing programme, applying thematic, individual interviews and using qualitative content analyses. The most significant finding is that although the students had none or limited pre-understanding of caring and the interaction between nurse and patient they were aware of the pre-supposes for establishing such an interplay, articulated in a desire to find out how to build an authentic and trustful caring relationship. Empirical data also show that the students, in the stage of beginners, were trying to identify and relate to basic concepts within caring science. The restricted understanding could then be understood as a matter of the students not being able to express more than they had words for. The results provide new insights into the interactions in the nurse-patient relationship, seen from the perspective of beginner students. These insights could be useful, for lecturers and clinical supervisors, who play a paramount role in the development of each student's acquisition of theoretical and practical knowledge.