Nursing students' experience of touching encounters A qualitative study

Background: Sensitive nursing care for people experiencing illness, health challenges and suffering is a core area of nursing that needs to be promoted. The aim of the study is to seek a deeper understanding of how nursing students describe the experience of touching encounters in their clinical practice. Method: The study has a qualitative research design with a phenomenological hermeneutic approach and qualitative interviews with eleven nursing students. The data is analyzed and interpreted using Kvale's three levels of interpretation. Findings: The previously analyzed themes are described as; Desire to be with the patient, Small significant deeds, The patient as a unique human being, Being allowed into deeper contact, The importance of personal experiences. Conclusion: Touching encounters are experiences that are important for preserving the core of the nursing profession, and therefore need to be made visible and put into words both in education and in the clinical field. The touch opens for vulnerability, emotional involvement, togetherness, trust and presence which can help ease the other's experienced situation.