Existing models of nursing require expansion and refinement to link theory, research, and clinical practice more closely. To accomplish this goal, conceptual models need to integrate a theoretically motivated and clinically useful account of nursing action. One way to do this is to view nursing action as a process of social interaction. Effecting positive changes in patients' health care status depends on nurse-patient interaction that promotes consensus. Consensus is arrived at through the process of negotiation and depends on the nurse's level of interpersonal competence. This article discusses core assumptions about the nature and function of nursing action as viewed through an interactional lens and identifies interpersonal skills suggested by this perspective, which are likely to account for competent nursing action.