The purpose of this paper is to investigate a nurse's understanding of the concept of confidence and what a nurse thinks affects the experience of confidence in the patient relationship. The project has a hermeneutic design using a research interview method. Nine nurses were interviewed. A hermeneutic approach was used in the analysis of the data. Interpretation of the data was linked to Segesten's model for confidence. Analysis of the data generated two major themes in relationship to the comprehension a nurse has of confidence. One theme was 'to feel comfortable, be relaxed'; the other was: 'feeling secure'. The result shows that nurses' definition of confidence is dependent on two security-creating factors: the significance of a professional network of co-workers and the importance of confirmation of professional role and competence.