title: Differing attitudes to care.
abstract: There are two schools of thought on how to address and deal with patients who present to emergency departments. The first is one where people are made to feel their concerns are legitimate; they are received with a smile and information is gleaned from them at the patient's speed rather than the nurse's. The second takes the view that if you smile at patients they will think they can spend half the morning telling you their woes, and that when you are extremely busy, it is best not to get too bogged down in the niceties, besides, patients need to understand that an emergency department is a stressful, busy place for staff.