The purposes of this study were to understand the nature of the interaction between nurses and cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy in a day hospital and to generate a nurse-patient relationship middle range theory. Grounded Theory methodology was used to guide data collection and analysis. Data collection strategies were: narrative interviews conducted with 5 nurses and 10 patients and relatives; a focus group with the nurses; 10 admission interviews carried out by the nurses; and a 60-day observation period. The findings describe the middle range theory that was built, whose nature is comprised of two components: "Process of diagnostic evaluation" - collection of new data, re-evaluation of the process and monitoring of caring procedures -; and "Process of nursing therapeutic intervention" - the simultaneous management of feelings and information. In the theory that was developed, the component of the relational dimension of the experience consists of a 3-phase sequential process: beginning, body and end of the relationship.
Nurse-patient relations; Helping behavior; Nursing care; Oncologic nursing