humanistic nursing model, a conceptual framework in which the nurse-patient relationship is analyzed as a human-to-human event rather than a nurse-to-patient interaction. The nurse makes therapeutic use of herself or himself, understanding the effects of nursing actions. Four phases are recognized in the development of the therapeutic relationship. The encounter phase is followed by the phase in which the identities of the nurse and patient emerge. The nurse empathizes and then sympathizes with the patient. The meaning of the patient’s experience is important; hope and suffering are seen as central to that experience. Self-knowledge and self-awareness of the nurse are essential. Nursing intervention proceeds in five steps: observation of the need for intervention; validation of this observation; determination of the ability of the nurse to facilitate any necessary referral; formulation of a plan for meeting the need; and evaluation of the degree to which the need is met.
