There are currently nine accredited enterostomal therapy nurse education programs in the United States. Estimates of all ostomy surgeries (those involving any opening from the abdomen for the removal of either feces or urine) range from 42,000 to 65,000 each year; about half are temporary. Educating the public at large with regards to the services an of enterostomal therapy nurse can provide is essential. This qualitative study was conducted in the Mississippi Delta Region. A questionnaire was administered to twenty voluntary patients who recently had undergone ostomy surgery. These participants received nursing care from either an Enterostomal Therapist verses a Registered Nurse while in the hospital. The questionnaire then identified areas which later were to be developed into an interview format. Three questions were given to each participant. The answers were triangular and common themes were identified. A proposal was written based on the themes identified for further phenomenological investigation utilizing intensive interviewing of 9 of the subjects selected purposively.