Contemporary models of competence in nursing are usually based on the questioning of nursing staff and therefore reflect their professional self-image. Our research focuses on the views of male and female patients on the relevant competencies of professional nursing staff. The "Critical Incident Techniqu" (CIT) (Flanagan, 1954) was applied to reveal relevant demands according to the patients' point of view. This technique has proven to be a suitable method for the reflection of nursing practice in this field of research and has provided realistic descriptions of staff behaviour. Nursing in the field of dialysis was chosen because of the specialized qualifications on staff needed and the high expectations assumed in this care. The CIT-interviews of one female and five male patients were transcribed and the content was analysed. Two main fields of demands were identified: "soft skills" and "hard skills". The patients especially stressed the demands on communicative and empathic competence ("soft skills"). Further research may be useful to validate the results with a larger sample.
Attitude of Health Personnel Empathy