This qualitative pilot study preceded quantitative inquiry in a mixed-method doctoral dissertation. The pilot aimed to gain an understanding of the lived experiences of women with fibromyalgia. Using a phenomenological approach, six themes were revealed: There is nothing we can do for you, We’ve got to find something, I feel like I’m going crazy, Losing, The best day, and Hope: I can do this. The findings provided support for the theoretical works of Mishel (1990) and Watson (1979, 1985), indicating therapeutic patient–health care provider communication is a powerful resource and an essential component of quality health care for women with fibromyalgia.

A caring-trusting relationship between teacher and student is foundational in caring educational environments. This relationship can be threatened when negative feedback to students is required. Instructional feedback based on feedback intervention theory (FIT) has been effective in communication studies. The purpose of this action research study was to explore the use of FIT-based communication techniques as a tool for nursing faculty to provide instructional feedback while protecting the caring-trusting relationship between teacher and student. Study participants reported positive changes in the instructional feedback communications with students that enabled a culture of caring to be maintained.

This paper describes the development and reliability assessment of the Caring Nurse Observation tool (CNOT), which includes measures of verbal and non-verbal caring interactions. Using Watson caring and Watzlawick communication theories, observable indicators of caring were selected. After a content validity assessment, the 43 indicators of the tool were tested for inter-rater reliability using both role-playing and real-life nurse-patient interactions. Mean inter-rater agreement was 38% and 41%, respectively, in the two datasets, indicating reliability of the tool. the CNOT will aid nurses to document and demonstrate the impact of caring attitudes on health outcomes in research and clinical practice.

This paper introduces a theory, synthesized from studies about professional nursing care from the perspective of patients’ perceptions of caring and uncaring encounters with nurses and other health professionals. The theory’s major tenets are: Nursing is compassionate competence and caring is the core of nursing according to the patient. the other aspects are: Competence, which must always have primacy in nursing according to the patient; wisdom, postulated to develop through the interplay of the nurse’s knowledge and experience; attentiveness, evidenced by a nurse’s undivided attention to the patient while with the patient; empowering communication and connection between nurse and patient, key to good nursing care according to the patient; and self-knowledge and self-development of the nurse, without which it is unlikely that the nurse can keep on being caring and empowering in communication with clients of nursing.