Touch therapies in the perioperative environment: human connecting for enhanced healing.

In today's fast-paced surgical environments, more than ever nurses are required to bring the sense of caring and human connection to their patients. Touch provides the most direct way of communicating this caring quality, provided the caregiver is centered and clear about intent. Three models of touch--the sensory-physical, the psychological-humanistic, and the energy-based--are explored in this article to give the reader creative and sensitive means of communicating the caring intent that is central to nursing practice.