Abstract:

Aim: The aim of this study is to identify patients’ and nurses’ perspectives about who is a good nurse. Materials and Methods: This was a qualitative study. The study sample consisted of eleven nurses and eight patients. Data were collected with a semi-structured interview form. Data were analyzed using content analysis methods. Findings: According to nurses, good nurse characteristics consisted of "openness to development and change", "professional competence", "communication", "professional awareness and love" and "personality traits" categories. It was determined knowledge, skill, experience and appropriate care subcategories for the professional competence category; "self-discipline" and "humanitarian traits" subcategories for the personality traits category. According to patients, good nurse characteristics consisted of "communication", "professional competence", "liking the profession" and "personality traits". It was determined that six nurses did not see themselves as a good nurse. The factors that prevent nurses from seeing themselves as good nurses were identified as "individual" and "systemic" reasons. Individual reasons were insufficient professional knowledge and skills, inability to follow professional changes, emotional approach to events and inability to cope with problems; the systemic reasons were high number of patients, heavy workload and the low number of nurses. Conclusions: It was determined that the good nurses' characteristics that nurses idealize and think they have and the patients and nurses’ opinions about a good nurse’s characteristics were similar but differed in some aspects.

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