The objective was to understand how users of an emergency service see the nursing action in the user embracement. Interviews were carried out with 382 service users from October 2008 to March 2009. We randomly approached subjects that were assessed in the embracement and they directed to the emergency ward. It was verified that even though most users (34.5%) reported having being assisted by the nursing team, few reported having been guided by some professional of the embracement team (49.2%). The major difficulties experienced by users referred to the lack of information on care and respect in the assistance. We emphasize the importance of more nursing activities in user embracement, understanding it as an activity not restricted to a service entrance.