First impressions: paradigms for patient assessment

The interview that the nurse completes with a patient on his admission to hospital may be seen as one more negotiated step within a patient career that may span many years. Nevertheless, the nurse's assessment of the patient marks a key point in this career, his entry into a formal institution. It also marks the starting point of a planned intervention on the part of the nurses involved. Whilst such interviews have traditionally not been seen as important as that with the consultant, they are likely to have a significant effect upon how patient and nurse subsequently interact. This paper describes a research project which sought to identify the ways in which student nurses formulate an assessment of a patient on admission. A qualitative research methodology was used and a symbolic interactionist perspective employed.