Our next Journal Club article will explore Integrative Medicine. Integrative Medicine is not new to Cancer Treatment Centers of America. We were, in fact, leaders in this area long before other institutions incorporated it into their patient care. For the second of our five articles please read Integrative Medicine and Anatomy of a Cancer Treatment Scam.
Questions
Select a complimentary therapy and give a brief description of how it is delivered as well as potential benefits when used along with conventional cancer treatments.
How can you tell whether a treatment is a scam or a legitimate treatment?
Discussion Question
Now let's shift gears to a totally unrelated topic. The media puts nurses at risk by generating new medical shows where nurses are negatively portrayed (Nurse Jackie, or House where nurses are completely absent from patient care).
For our discussion, share your beef about how nurses are unfairly portrayed by the media or other source. Please keep it polite and about one paragraph. Nurse Stereotypes
Please send your answers to melissa.luebbe@ctca-hope.com. Our next journal club article will be posted in January. I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving and Holiday Season!
*Also of note, new links in our side-bar for American Society for Pain Management Nurses, American Cannabis Nurses Association and Hospice / Palliative Care Nurses Association.
I guess the thing that cracks me up the most about medical shows is the amount of romantic drama. I'm not saying it never happens, but really?? Who's got time for all that? I am pleased that shows seem to portray more specific details now, and that nurses are portrayed in a more intelligent light.
ReplyDeleteWell said, Jenifer. The few shows I have seen always have a cast of doctors and nurses with "Model" good looks. These stories are basically soap operas with a few medical issues thrown in. They are very contrived and fine if you simply want to escape reality and this type of romantic scandal is your type of entertainment. Give me a good medical documentary anyday.
DeleteThere is a great video blogger Dr. Z dog and he watches an episode of some medical show about residents and he live critiqued it. When a doctor and nurse escaped for 7 seconds in the environmental technician's closet he lost it. "ewww, I don't even let my kids touch me in scrubs"! he yells. I am not going to lie, Ive been attracted to a coworker, but ive never wanted to get dirty in my dirty scrubs!
DeleteI will say in every hospital I've worked at there was always romantic drama somewhere. I think that's why all the soap operas had settings in a hospital.
DeleteI agree, most of the shows on TV are romantic drama. I have also witnessed this in real life work environments as well. We should all remain professional at work.
DeleteI agree with you Sheila, the professional aspect of work place romances can also create problems at work if it doesn't work out among other issues!
DeleteI don't watch much television, so I can't really speak to what is portrayed in that media. One stereotype that offends me is the "gold-digger" nurse that enters the profession with the goal of meeting and marrying a doctor. Although this does happen from time to time, nursing school is so demanding that there are certainly other, easier ways to meet and marry a wealthy man. This stereotype makes even less sense to me since I am a male. We all have studied and worked very hard to get into nursing school and pass our state board exams. I'd like to believe that we have put in so much hard work for reasons other than avarice or companionship.
ReplyDeleteremember when I told a friend that I was going to nursing school, she scoffed and said, "You'll never get a doctor". I laughed it off but inside I was screaming! I wanted to help and heal people not marry a doctor. That's when I realized she really didn't know me
DeleteJohn, I applaud your point. I fortunately have never been asked if I am looking to marry a doctor but yes it happens. I choose the nursing profession because I like helping people, period. It is a rewarding job that can bring happiness to those who otherwise have nothing to look forward to. I also agree that nursing school is demanding and that there are other ways to meet wealthy men if that is ones goal in life.
DeleteKate, your response made me laugh... however, it sadly reminds me of when I was going to school and everybody asked "why aren't you going to school to be a doctor"
DeleteJohn,
DeleteNursing is hard work and requires a lot of dedication. I can't imagine going through nursing school and job stresses in the hopes of marrying a doctor. Also, I think it would be better moving in the doctor's inner circle than becoming a nurse.
While some nurses marry doctors, I would not want to be married to a doctor. I think that he might want me to take care of him. Smart doctors do marry nurses because most nurses are very caring and supportive.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteNurses are portrayed in many ways in the media. One of my favorite nurse stereotypes is the know it all, sarcastic and sassy nurse that has the quick one liners but always swoops in and saves the day. It’s always a nurse later in her career that has the doctors respect but refused to reciprocate said respect. We never learn her back story and she never shares a personal anecdote. We know nothing of her, but that she is always in the background working. Although this is a stereotype this is the nurse I always liked. She is a background character that most of the audience doesn’t even know her character name or even her real name. It is a true to life portrayal, we all know a nurse just like her, but any stereotype can be a negative stereotype.
ReplyDeleteThe medical shows I've watched the doctors are portrayed more so then the nursing staff. When they show what the Dr's, interns, med students do it's more what a nurse would be doing then any Dr. that to me is funny. It makes me wonder who they have as the consult for medical issues. A teaching hospital is much different and things are done by med students, interns and residents usually with the nurse guiding them because the nurse has the knowledge.
ReplyDeleteI agree. The nurses must not be as exciting to display in a primary role on TV. When I worked in bone marrow transplant in a university hospital in late 1980's, we nurses ran the unit. The residents rotated in every 4 weeks. We nurses told them how the unit ran, what to assess, what orders to write. We were (still are) smart, intuitive, savvy, and terrific problem-solvers. Maybe that does not sell a weekly TV series.
DeleteI do not watch much TV. I avoid medical programs as I live it at work, not entertainment for me. I end up screaming at the TV because the bed or cart side rails are NEVER up! Anyway, my pet peeve is the term "male nurse." Why does society define men RN's by gender? Why not just "nurse," whether male or female. I suspect men find the term insulting also. I roll my eyes whenever someone makes a "naughty nurse" comment. (Not about me, obviously, I am an old lady now.) It is such an unfair, unrealistic portrayal of us. We are so much more. I think we are still the most trusted profession when all professions are reviewed, per statistics in the newspaper. One more idea... I like the Johnson & Johnson nurse commercials as they seem to inspire and portray us with dignity. Donna Krickl
ReplyDeleteYes, the whole "naughty nurse" thing irritates me. Realistically, it seems, to me, that the only uniform that is not attractive is the nurse uniform (the real one...aka scrubs. Not the Halloween costume version). Whereas, policeman, fireman, military uniforms are much more attractive, in my opinion.
DeleteI like the J&J commercials too:-)
DeleteAgree about the Johnson and Johnson commercials...when I heard them in passing I think to myself. "wow, how unusual a nice ad/ show about nursing" and then I realize what it is. Kudos to J & J.
DeleteLiterally, the only show that I watch is Grays Anatomy. Most of the time nurses are not the focus at all. Which I guess, in itself, would be inaccurate. We all know that nurses are the ones that do most of the work for patient's and that Doctors spend very little time at the bedside. The fact that all the residents and interns are always hooking up with each other is pretty amusing to me. I'm sure it happens in medical school from time to time but certainly not the norm.
ReplyDeleteTina -- I completely agree that the whole "hooking up" is not the norm because when your busy, who has the time to find a closet, do the deed, and then get back to your task at hand? Talk about being unsanitary
DeleteHi Tina,
DeleteI posted before reading your post, but I think we both recognize that nurses are not seen as significant as social media and television mostly highlight the work of doctors. It would be cool if they made a show that showed a day in the life of a nurse. I don't think people realize how much we have to know and how much we have to do as nurses.
I totally agree Camille-unsanitary indeed:-)
DeleteI agree with all of you. There is no hooking up happening because there is plenty of work to be done. There is a reason nurses outnumber doctors. There's a lot that nurses do that isn't even in the job description.
DeleteRosa Bastean
Grays anatomy was the only medical show I was loyal to for many seasons. I enjoyed the drama and never really paid attention to what the other characters were doing besides the main characters. Once they started killing off the good ones I became uninterested. -Roxana Vazquez
DeleteWhat bothers me the most on how some people may view nurses, because of social media, is that nurses do not do as much as doctors do. I respect doctors but they have just that one role, to be a good doctor. For nurses, we play multiple roles with each of our patients that the rest of the population does not see. We not only comfort the patient but each family member or friend that comes in contact with us. We become their care manager when issues arises or when allowed, sit and pray with them and become their Chaplin. I wish social media would shed more light on everything else that we do besides being just a nurse for a patient
ReplyDeleteCamille, I agree with you there are so many different aspects to the nursing role that we share with our patients that is not always recognized. It is for me why I choose to be a nurse thought because I love helping people and supporting them through difficult times. It makes me appreciate my own life so much more.
DeleteTotally agree with you Camille, that we nurses have multiple roles to each and every patient we have in contact with. Hopefully , they gonna make a show that portrays what NURSES really do. Camille and I will volunteer as one of the actors....
DeleteI agree with Camille, with all the multiple roles we RNs do that the rest of population see as these shows portray about RNs, but for me what we do in the real world matters and with the real population which are the patients and their families we take care of.
DeleteI’ve never seen Nurse Jackie or House so I don’t know how nurses are portrayed in these shows. I did watch ER back in the day though and for the most part I remember nurses having a pretty fair representation. I think one of them even became a doctor. The show New Amsterdam is pretty ambiguous when it comes to the role of nurses. The show is mostly focused on the medical director and the role of the doctors in the hospital. Nurses are not shown to be significant. This is how I think nurses are portrayed a lot of the time. The doctors are the ones calling the shots and the nurses are just on the sidelines carrying out orders. I don’t expect the public to understand what a nurse does, my husband doesn’t even understand. How can he, he’s not in my shoes. The only people who can truly understand are the nurses themselves and to some degree, the patients and families they work with. For me personally, I don’t think my patients think we as nurses are insignificant. They ask countless questions throughout the day assuming, as they should, that I know the answers. Questions such as, the CT scan said “this”, what does “this” mean. They depend on me to be knowledgeable and skillful in order to take care of them in a meaningful way. Nurses don’t have to “prove” their significance, they just have to do their job to the best of their ability, uphold the standards of the profession, and continue to learn.
ReplyDeleteWell said , Krista we don't need to prove our significance because we know in our heart our value.
DeleteAwesome post Krista. Our role is way different than we are portrayed on TV. I think society often thinks nurses aren’t that interesting and that doctors are more prestigious and have more drama going on so a show about them would be more appealing. You are so right, we know what we do and the mutual impact between patients and ourselves.
DeleteRecently I have not watched many "medical" TV shows. However, when I do I am always making comments. For example.. how they are doing CPR, how the DOCTOR is drawing blood...(when have we ever seen that one???) and my personal favorite is the main character MD is an expert on everything from dermatology to neurosurgery. He is in the OR doing every possible surgery when it is indicated. My family just laughs and says "it's just a TV show". I do think the shows have come a long way but we still have miles to go....Hopefully, every body in the real world knows a nurse and knows somewhat what we do. Lastly, I try when the opportunity comes along to educate what we really do to anyone who will listen
ReplyDeleteHi, yes, since when does an MD draw blood? How inaccurate that is.
DeleteHI Sarah, my family Dr. draws his own labs and takes his own vital signs! I am always amazed when he does because we all expect a nurse to draw our labs. I will say I enjoy the extra one on one time spent with my doctor.
DeleteI don't watch a lot of Medical television but I do love Grey's Anatomy. I like to try to figure out what is wrong with the patient before they do. This past weeks episode was very fitting for this Journal Club entry. One of the story lines was about a pregnant nurse. What I really likes was the respect the MD's had for this nurse and that they showed the nurses as a family all coming together for her. I won't give it away but it was really nice to see her respected and not as some sex symbol or "in the way".
ReplyDeleteI don't really watch tv and do remain out of the loop on media's portrayal of nurses. I find it interesting how many respondents above state they don't really watch tv as well. I think that nursing is similar to a lot of professions that do get stereotyped in the media. I think the entertainment media is exactly that entertainment and it is hard line to determine if something is overstepping the entertainment or not. This is one of the main reasons I stopped watching tv and shows, as I have a hard time not getting upset watching inaccurate portrayals of all health professionals, including nursing.
ReplyDeleteI agree Sarah, the inaccuracy is frustrating-you just want to shout out and say "that's not what REALLY happens!!!!!"
DeleteI agree with you. I do not watch much tv and when I do I find that it is hard to find real clean and simple entertainment. Any movie with a portrayal of a healthcare professional is totally inaccurate! Its too bad because if young people choose to go into a healthcare profession based on a TV portrayal they will be sadly disappointed.
DeleteI couldn't agree with you more Sarah. The Media (watching the TV shows) is exactly just- entertainment. Most very much so incorrect and wrong regarding the role of a nurse and/or other health care professionals. It does get frustrating!
DeleteI do not watch a whole lot of TV but sometimes a show or movie has a nurse/medical portion that I can critique or get a good laugh at:-) I do watch a lot of Hallmark Channel that occasionally has a nurse/medical part. They are always portraying medical people as kind, dedicated, and wholesome characters-it is nice to watch:-) I laughed recently at one of the hospital sets that had the wall plaques directing characters to specific departments. One of the departments(instead of X-ray, Maternity,etc) was "Defibrillation"-made me laugh, someone did not do their homework:-)
ReplyDeleteI just happened to watch Nurse Jackie just one time and I was upset on how they portrayed nurses. We are more than that. we are the patients advocate, their voice when they cant speak, their ear when no one listens their eyes when no one can see.
ReplyDeleteVilma, what a beautiful statement!!! I agree 100% with you. Especially in surgery, when the patient is under anesthesia,the nurse's role is to serve as patient advocate.
DeleteWell said Vilma, we are more than that. We take care of the patient and the family as well.
DeleteI agree with you vilma! thank you for writing that nice statement!
DeleteThe only medical show I really watch was Greys Anatomy and I was trying to think about the nurses on the show and whether it was negative and I realized I can barely remember them talking about nurses. As if the whole hospital is run by MDs, surgeons and medical students without assistance from nurses or really any other staff than anesthesiologist. Which is kind of funny and negative in its own way. The only times I remember them talking about nurses were when a MD was dating one or when the nurses did a strike....
ReplyDeleteThe naughty nurse has always really bothered me. I see it mostly around Halloween time as a costume and it really upsets me because nurses should be seen for our smarts and compassion not as portrayed by a naughty nurse image.
ReplyDeleteYes this is true.... I do not like how nursing has been sexualized in our culture. Because of this, we've experienced a few occasions where patients are inappropriate with nurses. It makes things uncomfortable for the staff and hard to do our jobs.
DeleteI agree! Everytime I see a nursing Halloween costume - it's made to make to show sex appeal. What a disgrace to our profession!
DeleteYes I agree with all of you of you. The sexiness is something else sometimes. I’m like wow I wonder where people get the idea that this is how nurses are, because it’s definitely not accurate or appropriate.
DeleteNurseJackie breaks rules, disregards protocols and abuses hospital pharmacy narcotics. She also makes poor choices in her personal life as well. She is a poor image of a nurse. I agree with Stephanie M, on TV and in reality, hospitals are still doctor oriented. Even our patients tend to give more kudos to the doctors and target nurses more often with their anger.
ReplyDeleteI have never seen Nurse Jackie and don't get to see a lot of TV but I am aware of the negative portrayal that exists. It is insulting as we are educated like any other professional and work so hard for our patients. With that being said I am almost afraid to tell people what I do for a living because then they start questioning you as if you are a physician or ask you to remove their sutures so they can save the money for an appointment. I have also been thanked for being a nurse and told how special I am for being able to care for patients at their worst. Tv shows are meant to be fiction as they are to keep an audience and ratings despite the negative role they show nurses as.
ReplyDeleteI find it funny when a show is about a facility that just hired a new doctor. It's the doctor's first day. The doctor is always male. He is young. He is "HOT". He walks around with a halo around him. He's smile is so bright glasses are required. The nurses are all noodles around him. This just doesn't happen. Plus, the nurses are too busy charting and taking care of patients.
ReplyDeleteRosa Bastean
The nursing stereotype that I have an issue with is the one that portrays us as sluts. You see these seductive female nurses dressed in a low cut, mini skirt length dress, walking like she is onto her next conquest, carrying a clipboard. The buttons on the top of her dress are literally about to pop off because of the size of her breast. You get the picture she is not that smart. All of the male patients request a bed-bath as soon as she enters the room.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you Patricia! I dont care for that stereotype either! There is a history of society that men see us in that role as a sexual distraction, or I have heard, "nurses are hot!" That is not what this role is meant to be seen as. This came in from I believe many years back when men didn't take woman's roles seriously and many nurses weren't respected in their positions but the physician.I would like to believe that much has changed over many many years, however there are still many that can attest to those same views. We are professionals and it saddens me that we can be looked at in that manner.
DeleteJolie, great post. I only wish that this were not a "one-way street" issue. We've all seen the "Hot Firemen/Policemen"calendars. People seem to be fine with this exploitation. If a "Sexy Nurse" calendar were published, I'm sure most working nurses would be offended. So why the double standard? Just throwing this out there to play Devil's advocate and look at this issue from a different perspective to generate some thought and debate. Thanks again.
DeleteGreat post Patricia! It's true, nurses, more than any other profession have been portrayed as sexual objects. I have experienced, being a male, that the sexual references can be directed toward both genders. Because the profession is based on care, there is some perversion for some that insinuates that the care of a nurse, male caring for a female patient or female caring for a male patient, will lead to some sexual fantasy. Keep dreaming.
DeleteNinfa Bontes November 20, 2018
ReplyDeleteOppsss! This must not be a good interactive blog for me. I personally don't watch those types of TV shows. But, truly the shows that entice me are the comedy shows and action movies if not scary at all. When given the time, I tell my hubby to switch to comedy for me:) Anyhow, the image that the media projects or portrays on nurses is not at all professionally fair to all of us who carry the title, "RN or nurse." We were once very proud individuals when we marched in the aisle to have a handle of our diploma in any sort of professional achievement and for us to allow the media to speak badly of a nurse is unacceptable at all. My thinking to this is to stop the media from false advertising on the image of a nurse. That opens up an opportunity for each nurse to partake in a nursing association lobby that brings a unified voice that can speak out on the issues like this. I strongly believe that our profession is well-respected and is prestigious in society.
I have watched several medical shows over the years - 'Scrubs' was my ultimate favorite and 'Grey's Anatomy' being my go to show now. I do not watch these shows with the intention of learning new medical procedures or with the intention of growing my nursing career or with the hope of the public to learn about my career. I simply watch them to have a chance to decompress, laugh, relate to the human interactions. I get that nurses are not portrayed in the best light in these shows, but neither are the other professionals (MD, respiratory therapist, physical therapist, interns, or radiologist). For me, I did not become a nurse because of these shows, I became a nurse because of an event in my life and majority of other people I would imagine that there were other factors that play into a person's life choice and other professions beyond medical field is not portrayed correctly.
ReplyDeleteElizabeth, I used to watch Greys Anatomy but cannot keep up who is sleeping with who and who and gave up. At least it is the residents/docs that are sleeping with each other. This is not the real world of healthcare. People sleep with people in different professions since the caveman. I became a nurse because it is what I love and is in my soul. I do critique these shows when they are performing CPR wrong or wrong dosages...and it drives my family nuts!!! If they are going to have these shows on TV please get it right!
DeleteHonestly, I do not know any stereotypes created my media. I keep myself distanced from tv shows and news. However, I came across the opinion that the general public thinks that nurses make a lot of money. I heard myself once a comment of a patient's family member, and I was shocked. I believe that nurses do not make enough money for what they do. The profession is highly demanding and the load of work is getting bigger. It can get both physically and mentally exhausting. I do not want to sound like I am complaining, but for those who make such comments, I wish they worked as a nurse for a day!!!
ReplyDeleteAnna, I had a good chuckle as when I entered into nursing in the 70's my father was horrified that a women would make $10,000 a year! Now my Dad was not chauvinistic but he was born in 1910 and that was the way of the world back then. He was very proud of us but could not wrap his mind around the money. When I graduated from nursing school the male nurse automatically made $1,500 more per year because they were male. Thank heavens that has changed!
DeleteHas that really changed Pat? I wonder.
DeleteI wonder that same question Cathy. When I graduated in 1996 I was still hearing that male nurse will make more then female nurses.
DeleteI don’t watch much T.V., but have seen a few episodes of Grey’s Anatomy, Private Practice, and Scrubs over the years. They portray nurses as sympathetic characters but never showed them as having many skills. They always show “Physicians” in charge of everything. In most episodes, doctors are seen performing critical skills/decisions that in real life are actually performed by nurses. These fictional nurse characters have the background roles in these shows taking patient’s pulse or blood pressure, holding a patient’s hand, emptying a bedpan, or dating a doctor. These fictional nurse characters are unrealistic.
ReplyDeleteThis made me laugh! We all know nurses play a much larger role in real life being the eyes and ears for the patient
DeleteI agree Brenda! We are very compassionate, empathetic people, however we do much more. We are our patients advocates. We are top notch with our critical thinking and perform advanced skills... not just taking vitals, holding hands and emptying a bedpans. Oh and all the medical shows with all the nurses falling for doctors, it gets really old.
DeleteBack in the 80"s Oprah had nurses on her show and it was about burnout. One nurse stated "you know what happens to nurses that are working too many hours or are burned out - they become drug addicts". This was the day you could call into Oprah. I must have called that number 20 times and did not get through. I was infuriated that one of my own peers would make that statement.
ReplyDeleteThe TV shows have improved over the years but still not where they should be. I am proud that J&J and other companies have their commercials on the positive aspects of the nurse. Also on all of the best jobs in America we are strong and proud in the top careers.
There was a comment made earlier about the distinction being made between nurse and "male" nurse. The point was that the term should just be nurse. I believe that the biggest stereotype there is in nursing is that nurses are female. If you asked most people to picture a nurse in their mind, it would most likely be a woman they are envisioning. Even though men have always been part of nursing throughout history due to the need for battle site care for the wounded and dying. Over time, though, women have become the vast majority of the nursing population. My background before becoming an RN was in the building trades, as a heavy equipment operator. This stereotype is so great that I have never been really comfortable telling people that I am a nurse when I am asked what I do for a living. I love my job, I love what I do, and I love meeting my patient's needs. I just wish there was another title for what I do. So that on those rare occasions when I introduce myself to a patient I don't get the "but you're a guy" reaction.
ReplyDeleteGreat insight, Cliff! It's good to hear how RN stereotypes affect a man. Likewise, I'm sure you were aware of the stereotypes and assumptions people would make about a heavy equipment operator, as well.
DeleteI hate watching medical shows simply because of nurse stereotypes and how unrealistic a lot of the shows are. A lot of duties that are carried out by the nurse in real life is shown to be done by physicians. A lot of these shows fail to show autonomy of a nurse or their clinical judgement.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you Amy. I myself try not to focus on those details so that I have a chance at enjoying the show in general - but I definitely agree... they are not always realistic, unfortunately.
Delete(Danyel Scharff)
DeleteThe comment that made me nuts was on the View a few years ago. One of the co-host, Joy Behar, commented on a young woman who wore scrubs and stethoscope for a portion of a beauty contest, she was a nurse. She called the nurse's uniform a costume and wanted to know why she was wearing the stethoscope! She stated that only doctors use them. I will say General Hospital is still my favorite soap opera but I certainly do not think of it, even remotely, as true to life.
ReplyDeleteI remember watching that clip and saying “wow”. I could not believe how ignorant some people are about our profession. This is where we need to educate and not get angry as this is the only way people will learn just like with everything else in life. - Roxana Vazquez
DeleteI had to write a paper on nursing stereotypes when I was in nursing school. It really opened my eyes to the way the public see's the nursing image represented in movies, media and entertainment. There are so many misrepresentations; from bright red lipstick to wearing high heels and even the white nursing caps! Nursing is a profession that should be respected, not mocked or underplayed as an unimportant career.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteNursing stereotypes are seen all the time on media. Three stereotypes that bother me most are the mentality that nursing is for females, nurses wearing white hats and the nurse costumes during Halloween time. Nursing is a very respectable and honoring profession for both men and women. It takes great determination and focus to become a nurse and we should be respected more.
ReplyDeleteI totally agreed with you Sheila about stereotypes but what even concerning to me is that there are many people who do not seek health care regularly and or get perpetuated from media.not everyone knows how hard is to go through schooling. I strongly believed that nurses are very vital and plays very important role in patient care.
DeleteI agree that nurses are stereo typed in many ways, some positive and some negative. But the people who truly understand how hard a nurse works and what they really go through in their profession are their families and other co-workers....you see the shifts they pull, the patient care given, and a true dedication to their profession! The medical shows on T.V. usually have it wrong.
ReplyDeleteI guess my biggest gripe is the popular medical shows that I get a chance to watch on occasion never give nurses the credit they deserve. The role of the nurse on tv is vastly different than real life. Many times nurses are seen "standing in the background" while doctors and surgeons are the always the stars of the storyline. We simply deserve more credit.
ReplyDelete(Danyel Scharff)
I haven't watched either program but, I have watched a few medical shows and the doctors are always the one that make the decisions. The nurses are kind of seen and not heard. When I have seen a nurse speak up they usually get written or reported to the boss. They are made to look like the bad guy for speaking up over a doctor. Once in awhile they will have it that a nurse is a good guy or gal. Hardly ever see male nurses. When we all know that more and more males are becoming nurses. Usually have nurses just hanging medications on IV poles but, never have them starting the IVs or connecting the medications up to the patients. They make it look like only the doctors can do those tasks. And, why is it that they always have the nurses fall in love with the doctors. Why can't a nurse fall in love with another nurse? Just saying!
ReplyDeleteOh the nurses always falling for doctors drives me nuts! How about for a change we have a doctor fall in love with a nurse and follow her around all day making puppy dog eyes and pining away for her? That's a story line I'd love to watch!
DeleteThe portrayal of these roles is to make the show more interesting but not looking at the cons of what these shows can impact into the minds of those who are clean slates. I think that the bottom line of all of this is that the writers of TV shows and movies felt or is hunger for the need to take artistic license in order to create compelling, provocative stories filled with conflict, and sexual scenes meant to entertain a mass audience. I guess people always buy what is catchy and interesting.
DeleteI think a stereotype that bothers me most is that nurses are only nurses because we wanted to be doctors but couldn't do it. Or that nurses are only nurses until they can become doctors. I've had a number of patients ask me over the years, "Why didn't you become a doctor?" And my response is usually some version of, "Because I wanted to be a nurse." The "battle-axe" stereotype is one that continues to be pervasive as well, with a patient as recently as six months ago make a crack about me being Nurse Ratched (and then almost immediately backtracking).
ReplyDeleteI haven't watched the series mentioned above, however I just started to watch the new series, New Amsterdam. I am only a couple episodes in, but I seriously haven't saw one nurse role thus far. Every character is a doctor...as if they can carry out all the duties/skills that a RN can. In this show the physician does all the triaging, assessments, medication administrations, IV starts, venipuncture's, hanging fluids, etc.. Just upsetting as this displays that a physician doesn't need the assistance of a nurse...that they don't rely on the skilled assessments, critical thinking, and advanced skills a nurse carries out. Grrrr.
ReplyDeleteI don’t have time to watch much TV, but this would get my goat too! No offense, but it would take 3 doctors sometimes to do what a nurse does at times.
DeleteI just don’t think that they are wired the same... but, that’s television for you I guess!
Brenda Chiappetta
To be honest, I do not watch any of those shows and the main reason is while watching, I become upset on how far those shows are from reality.As a student we had to do a research project and write a paper on "Nurses in Media". I was shocked when,I typed "nurse" in Google search engine and looked for image. It was heart breaking to know that all images were about female in erotic costume.I remember watching old movies and nurses are portrayed the nurse as a female in a white short skirt and hat. It is disappointing that the media discounts a nurse's skill and compassion for patients. I would like to leave with a positive note that despite of all these images Nursing is still the most trusted profession.
ReplyDeleteThat is very interesting, yet disheartening that the images that came up for you were all stereotypical images and not the true image of the nursing profession. I wonder how we could elicit change in that area?
DeleteBrenda Chiappetta
I don't watch a lot of these shows. I am more an action, adventure and documentary person. I have read almost everyone's blogs about the negative portrayals about our nursing profession; whether it is the naughty nurse, the abusive nurse Jackie, the gold digger nurse or the highly paid nurse...all these things degrade our profession and definitely not a clear representation of nursing. I do not agree with all of it because I believe " Nurses Saves Lives ". We all know what we do and what we can do. After all those are just shows anyway.
ReplyDeleteI agree alex, "Nurses Save Lives." The media should project that, but I guess they feel that wouldn't boost ratings.
DeleteWhat really annoyed me was the backlash of nursing as a profession on The View after Miss Colorado Kelly Johnson a nurse who came on stage in her scrubs and stethoscope and delivered an emotional speech about her job as a nurse working with Alzheimer’s patients. She was mocked and ridiculed and the comment was made...”Why does she have a doctor’s stethoscope?”
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, this got a lot of nurses heated under the collar, but also made the hosts of The View look very uneducated...not to say, they list a lot of their advertising sponsorships. Nurses are consistently in the top 5 professions for honesty and integrity. It is unfortunate that there are a lot of ignorant people out there.
Brenda Chiappetta
I agree with you, Brenda. I was also upset when women on The View, who are supposed to appear intelligent and progressive, identified the stethoscope as a "doctor's" tool. It really showed their ignorance on the value that nurses have in the medical system and the significant effect we have on it.
DeleteI believe that these new shows may represent isolated situations. A very small sector at most. But lets face it they could not make a TV show out of us doing our jobs. Great Nurses giving wonderful patient care. That would not stay on the air long. The sad thing is the general population in America does not know how hard we work, or how much care goes into our jobs, or that the nurse Is with the patient 99 percent of the time, and the doctor 1 percent. It isn't until they need hospital services that perception will be changed.
ReplyDeleteJulie, I think that shows are getting better, too. No longer are nurses solely young females wearing white skirts. They are active participants. Yay!
DeleteThe two shows mentioned are foreign to me. Based on the various comments I read, must be the reason why I don't watch the shows. I stop watching medical shows because they give bad images & portrayal to us NURSES. Good, bad, naughty or nice doesn't really give us the full credit how NOBLE our profession. I pity Joy B. (from The View) for the ignorant comment about one of the contestants. I believe there was a big backlash from the sponsorships. And I agree of some of the comments, it will be non-appealing to TV viewers if they just show the hard working, unselfish, passionate nurses showing how we care for our patients and their care givers. I still believe that if we show how our TRUE calling by taking care of our patients thru "MOTHER STANDARD OF CARE" words will spread WHAT REAL LIFE NURSES DO. As evidenced of our patients coming from all over the country. We should take ownership of what we do and BE PROUS!
ReplyDeleteHi everyone,
ReplyDeleteSo I actually have never watched a medical show. I’ve seen them here and there but never followed one. But I will say I haven’t ever noticed nurses being a main role, and to be honest I think I almost don’t even expect to see them as one either.
I was just talking to a nurse of 50 years on my floor and she read the article as well and explained to me all the different stereotypes she’s experienced. Wow! It was crazy hearing real stories from the times when those stereotypes were at the peak of being relevant. One stereotype I really dislike is how we are perceived as “just nurses” with no real skills. I have had people ask me before “are you an actual RN or just a nurse?” It leaves me very puzzled. We go through intense school and training and have to retain a lot of things that we use day to day. Our job encompasses many elements and is never the same day to day and I don’t think many people realize that.
Thanks everyone. I’m thankful for all of you!
Hi! I myself have not watched any of these shows, but by reading the comments from the other posts I completely agree with many of you, as well as look up to RN's. Being in surgery it is myself(CST) and the RN's job to be the patient's advocate. These patients here at CTCA come to surgery so that we can possibly improve their quality of life, I cant imagine putting my life into someone else's hand like that. So to all the Nurses not only here at CTCA, you all ROCK!
ReplyDeleteIt has been a long time since I watched House and I have not seen Nurse Jackie yet, but I like watching shows nowadays like The Resident, Good Doctor and Code Black. Like 2/3 of those shows, the main characters are doctors not RNs, so even those things that were usually done by RNs are being done by MD's like hanging IVs, transfusing blood even doing bedside care. For me as a nurse, in the real world I am not really bothered by these since I know what we are really capable of doing in a real hospital setting which is providing real patient care and I am proud of that.
ReplyDeleteTwo shows that I watch frequently are Grey's Anatomy and The Good Doctor. Yes, these shows are more about the surgeons but I feel like the doctors are often shown doing tasks that a RN would do: checking IV's, giving medicine, etc. Due to this, I feel that people don't have a full understanding of just how much nurses are involved in their patient's care. We all know that doctors coming in for a consult and discussion but nurses are the ones at the bedside whenever a call light goes off.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your comment. And funny enough, as I was reading other comments, a patient drove past in an electric scooter and made a comment that she was told it's OK to run over one of the Nurses but not the Doctors.
DeleteTheresa Minniear - Clinical Research
ReplyDeleteI actually think that the media has done a good job lately with portraying diversity in nursing, especially with males and aging. Nurses perhaps are still unfairly represented in the following ways: 1) sufficient time to chart 2) timely responses from physicians and 3) always knowing the right thing to say. The latter I struggle with. Twice this week I have been along in a room with a patient sobbing due to bad news. I always struggle for comforting words, when I know I’d be the same way. I tell them I’ll pray—but what if he/she is not religious? I say it anyway, because I will.
I do feel that every professional in this world should not be a center for people to mimic for the sake of fun. Putting ourselves into these people shoes would somehow make us realize that people do what they do to make a living. Just like in the case of us nurses, it is hard nowadays to find something that depicts nurses as demonstrating our clinical skill, diligence, and compassion, hence, nurses are portrayed as "physician helpers", not the highly skilled independent clinicians that we know we are as nurses. I remember watching episodes of MASH before which portrays the trials and tribulations of doctors working in a mobile army surgical hospital and one of the most colorful attraction of that show was a female nurse named Margaret. In this series, she was called "Hot Lips" which served as a sexual interest of several male characters throughout the course of the show. For me, I feel that social media in the form of movies, television, and other forms of media has brainwashed most of the people because of the writers depicting nurses as sexual objects and being subservient to male or female doctors. In reality, we do more than that and to me the most important thing is that we hold on to our standards and ethics as nurses because no matter what other people say about what we do we can say that "we save lives" and we should and must be proud of it irregardless of what other people think.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you Richie. we are the proud nurses.
DeleteI'm not much of a TV watcher, so I can't comment specifically on the TV shows that were mentioned. However, I'm well aware of all of the stereotypes mentioned within the article. I believe that as a profession, nurses have become more vocal and assertive in their role as intelligent clinicians. 'Back in the day' when nurses wore white dresses and caps bobbypinned into their hair it presented a vibe of a flight attendant or maid. Nursing is a second career for me, and if the white dresses and tights were still part of the standard uniform, I would NEVER have gone to nursing school. Thankfully, nurses advocated for scrubs which could get dirty, which they could bend in, which they can turn patients in, and which they can be taken seriously in. I'm always happy to hear nurses remain one of the most trusted professions - it's a well-earned rank in our communities.
ReplyDeleteMy comment about stereotype is when I see people dressing up like a nurse on Halloween. For some reason i fell underestimated. Regardless of what they portrait us nurses. I may say we are special in our profession, we sometimes functions like or more than the doctors. We can multitask. I am proud to be ONE.
ReplyDeleteI tried to watch Nurse Jackie when it first came out. I did manage the first season, but at the time I was a new Nurse and I struggled with the portrayal of Nurses in this show. Not to say that this is not reality for some Nurses and I understand that drug addiction is a real issue. Like everyone has been commenting on, Nurses are the backbone of healthcare and it is a shame that the media places emphasis that we are "just a Nurse".
ReplyDeleteI still think that the general perception of the nursing profession is that nursing is considered a female profession. Being a male, that bothered me a little bit, but then I started seeing male nurses in the field and was very impressed how they provided care in so many areas of healthcare. I was told by a family member that I "do a women's job". The family member who told me that was not happy with his life at the time and said it to upset me-and it did for a second, then I realized that he has no clue to what this profession encompasses, and how we, as nurses, are serving God's people. How cool is that?!
ReplyDeleteMy frustration with medical shows is that it always seems like nurses are more concerned with their developing love interests with doctors or other healthcare workers. I suppose that goes along with the "naughty nurse" image. I get so frustrated with the media portrayal that we are all having affairs with each other at work, looking for the next supply closet to dart into....
ReplyDeleteIt always cracks me up when I see physicians running codes on TV. In real life, it is rare that a physician runs the code. Many of them don't even have ACLS training. In my first nursing job in an ICU, we had an "eICU," or a remote ICU, doctor trying to give orders during a code from a remote site, that were completely against ACLS protocol. Needless to say, we, the nurses running the code, told him he was incorrect and followed protocol. I am so happy that on my team, both of our oncologists and our NP have such a respect for our roles, knowledge, and opinions. I am never afraid to question a decision or make suggestions because I am respected as an educated professional!
ReplyDeleteI really feel frustrated as nurses being stereotyped as sex symbol. Some comedy shows would have the nurses wear the skimpy uniform, enticing patient or hooking up with the doctor. Media is very powerful and should give justice to nurses. They should do more ad like J&J.
ReplyDelete