Addresses the issue of emotion in healthcare organization. It reflects a more general and growing interest in the role of emotion across a range of academic disciplines. The articles selected for inclusion therefore trace both the interpersonal nature of emotion, as well as how it can also span the individual and the organizational setting. In addition there are articles which look at the bridges into both the shadowy areas of organizational life like gossip, as well as the interface between personal and professional lives. The papers indicate a shared international desire to understand meaning in emotion that is now spreading across organizational process and into all professional roles within healthcare. Originally published as Journal of Health Organization and Management (2005, Vol.19, No.4/5)