First published in 1997, this volume responds to the rapidly developing fields of nursing and health care fields and explores the meaning of nursing and the nurse-patient relationship through looking at the effects of a nurse’s personality, approach and understanding as being therapeutic for the patient’s experience. Steven J. Ersser explores areas including the concept of nursing as therapy, the presence of nurses and the effect of nursing on patient outcome. His book is part of a new series of monographs offering up-to-date reports of recently completed research projects in the fields of nursing and health care. The aim of the series is to report studies that have relevance to contemporary nursing and health care practice. It will include reports of research into aspects of clinical nursing care, management and education. This book, along with the series, will be of interest to all nurses and health care workers, researchers, managers and educators in the field.