Table 3. Relationship-Building Skills that Facilitate PCC/CSC.

Theme	Subthemes	Representative Quotes
Start off on the right foot	Be courteous cheerful, positive, & appear relaxed.	You have to have a happy, cheery tone of voice. P4 If we have a more easy-going attitude as well as positivity, then our patients will be more prone to open up to us and allow us to help them. P18
	Appear professional, knowledgeable, confident.	It's important to present that confident, professional persona right up front. P9 Be professional and courteous. Show up on time, be professionally dressed, all that kind of thing. P10 Nurses need to be knowledgeable—about diseases, latest best practices, cultures—so they can be confident. P16
	Socialize before business	You've got to build rapport with them first. P5 I just think that the relationship is absolutely the most important thing. Socialize a little bit, till they feel more comfortable. P8
	Include family/caregivers	Talk directly to the patient and the family. Don't talk at them but include them in the conversations and ask them their opinions. P6
Build a warm trusting relationship	Build trust	It is a relationship. You treat them as a person, not a task. That's how you get therapeutic communication and a therapeutic relationship. P5 They need to see that you are there for them. So I think, building the trust, letting them see that you are on their side, and that you really are there to help them. P9
	Listen carefully to show caring	I tell my patients to “tell me your story,” asking them to tell me about what happened to them related to their illness or injury. P1 Really work on active listening. I know it's hard. I know we're in a hurry. P12 Take time to listen, and to truly understand your patients. P17
	Share power with the patient	You need to respect that you're in someone else's home. You're not in charge here. The patient is in charge and the only way you're ever going accomplish what you want is if you let them be in charge. P1 It's their territory, their home, their turf. You're a guest. You can't come in and say, “This is what we're doing, this is how we're doing it, and this is going to be the way it is.” P5 When patients have more active control over their care, rather than just being the one that doesn't have a say, feeling like someone just comes in, does what they do, and leaves, then they feel much more satisfied and much more comfortable and at peace. P20
	Assure good communication	I speak some Spanish, but if they're asking me questions and I'm not understanding, then I get the language line involved, and I have that on speed dial on my work cell phone. P9 Listen to your patient, and then communicate within the patients' health literacy and cultural beliefs. P16
	Humanize yourself	Be a person. I think it helps them to relate to you. Pull out something you share with the patient, like a hobby or grandchildren. P1 When assuring that patients are taking the right medications, “I tell them about a medication error that I made on myself, and I had to tell the doctor. And then we laugh together about how I could have made such a silly error. And then they listen when I recommend using a medication box.” P4