Initiating Rapport
Rapport was established by informal, social communication that enabled the nurse and the patient
to get to know each other as persons. One of the nurses interviewed described this interaction:
Just by introducing yourself, by chatting along as you’re doing things . . . with the patient.
Asking them . . . questions about themselves . . . like “how are you feeling about being in hospital?
How are you feeling about the operation tomorrow?” And then they’ll sort of give you
a clue . . . and actually then tell you how they’re feeling about things . . . just general chit chat
(Nurse). (p. 38)
The sequence used byWilliams and Irurita (1998) to describe key information about the category
is an effective style for reporting qualitative findings. It consists of
• a label for the category,
• the authors’ description of the meaning of the category, and
• a quotation from the raw text to elaborate the meaning of the category and to show the type of text
coded into the category.
This style is recommended for reporting the most important categories that constitute the main
findings of an inductive analysis.
Williams and Irurita (1998) also included a figure of the relationships among the four main
categories derived from their analysis that linked the categories into an overall model. The categories
were (a) initiating rapport, (b) developing trust, (c) identifying patient needs, and (d)
delivering quality nursing care. In the model, these categories formed a sequence of steps in
which each earlier step had to be completed before the next step could commence (p. 38).