In four wards of a large specialized orthopedic hospital in Bologna a self-administered questionnaire has been distributed to 34 nurses and 70 patients to investigate on one side, the representation which nurses have of patients' needs and the difficulties met in their work, on the other side the representation which patients have of the care they receive and of the difficulties they have in their relationship with nurses. Nurses give principal importance to those activities which contribute to the development of a good relationship with the patients. There is however a clear gap between the degree of awareness of the principles and their implementation, possibly as a consequence of the work organization. Some model situations are examined and discussed (e.g. the time allowed for dialogue, which is confined to ten minutes).