Interviews with patients show that they believe the quality of care they receive depends upon the relationships they establish with nurses, and that they work to make nurses their friends, "be an easy patient," and "try to get them to listen." Some patients reported having a sincere desire to establish a genuine relationship with their nurses, a connection that affirms the patient's unique identity. Others, however, built relationships as a way to get nurses to remember them—in the hope that the nurses would be more responsive to their needs if they "stood out from the crowd."
