Initial assessment in the A & E department.

In this second paper on the work of Accident and Emergency (A & E) nurses, a general overview of nursing assessment in the A & E department at the point of initial nurse patient contact is put forward. This is rooted in nurses' accounts of the ways in which nursing work is talked about and accomplished within the A & E setting. Again it should be noted that this paper describes the ordinary rather than the extraordinary and should hold no surprises for those familiar with such work.