RESUMO
Objective:To explore strategies of improving patients' stereotyping of nurses, by analyzing patients′ stereotypes of nurses.Methods:The phenomenological analysis method in qualitative research was used to conduct semi-structured interviews with 12 inpatients by objective sampling method.Results:The patients′ stereotype of nurses could be summarized into three topics, it mainly consisted of three aspects: patients′ cognition of the role of nurses, patients′ stereotype of nurse-patient relationship and factors affecting nurse-patient relationship from patients′ perspective, among which factors affecting nurse-patient relationship included doctors′ attitude towards nurses, public opinion effect of media reports and patients′ negative psychological experience.Conclusions:The prejudice of patients to the relationship between nurses and patients is not optimistic, it is suggested to improve patients′ stereotyping of nurses by reconstructing the ideal role of nurses, building harmonious trusting relationships and providing friendly support from the "others".