Media Influence On Nursing Research Paper
Deception For every profession there are those that pick their way into changing the image of that specific profession. Of these many professions, nursing is a major profession that has been given a falsified image within the media. Over many years people have overlooked at how important nursing really is within the health care delivery system. Out of the numerous professions within the health care delivery system, the profession with the most patient contact are nurses. Media has been making outrageous claims against nurses for years. Of these false images, many can be seen throughout various television shows, films, press and even within books. Not only is media creating a false image of the profession it can be seen on every October 31st. Along with media, Halloween is deceiving the real beauty of the profession of nursing. The media has created various types of portraits on nursing which is negatively impacting the importance of this health care profession.
…show more content…
Media’s portraits of nursing are creating an unrealistic image of the profession that is making it seem unattractive to the public.
The importance of nursing within the health care system is being overlooked and is basically saying that nursing doesn’t matter. A popular image that the profession of nursing has been given for many years is that they are physicians’ servants. To speak about the topic a nurse herself, Bree LeMarie, MS, RN discusses her thoughts on the profession before she decided to enter the profession. She recalls, “At 16, the media already had me believing nursing was all about serving physicians and being a scut-work saint.” (LeMarie, 2004). LeMarie changed her mind a few years later after she discovered nurses really have independence and
autonomy. Among speaking out about this issue with these images of nurses is, Barbara LeTourneau MD., MBA, CHE, CPE, vice president, Medical Affairs, Regions Hospital of St. Paul, Minnesota. LeTourneau states her opinion with, “Those were the days when, if a physician arrived on the unit to make patient rounds, a nurse brought the physician a cup of coffee and maybe a donut.” (pg. 12). LeTourneau is referring to the time when health care was still fairly new and there wasn’t as many strict rules, which was clearly before the 80’s. During these days physicians were more involved with patient care and actually made rounds on the unit. Barbara later brings up the point that these were the days when health caregivers were allowed to smoke on the ward. She also comments on the fact that, this was during the times nurses weren’t as knowledgeable and didn’t have the skills to work independently as they do now. Today that is not the case and media should not be continuing this image for the public.
In fact these were the conditions of health care years ago but now some hospitals won’t even allow anyone to smoke within their premises. This is one of the many changes that have occurred with hospitals. Another change is that, nurses today are much more knowledgeable and can make many decisions regarding the patient’s plan of care with consult from the physician. Physicians are rarely seen within a hospital unit and when they are it’s for very short periods of time. Real life nurses are the health professionals that have the most patient contact. They have become very liable for their patients’ lives these days. Even though this image was created many years ago, people today still believe that’s the truth about nursing.
Along with having the public believe those false images of nurses that media has created are the falsified images various medical television shows create. A few examples of these shows that belittle and misrepresent nurses and other health professions include: ER, Scrubs, Grey’s Anatomy and House. Within LeMarie’s article, Sandy Summers, on media portrayal of nurses, she discusses where the most harm is being done. She states that, “Television’s ER has got to be nursing’s public enemy No. 1. They reach so many people; 20 million to 30 million in the U.S.” (LeMarie, 2004). That’s doesn’t even include the many millions of people around the world that ER reaches.
Nursing’s number one enemy, ER, is putting a negative image on nurses, which is affecting the future of the profession. Recruitment of students to enter the career of nursing is going to lead to the creation of a shortage. Many will say in a few years that the shortage in nurses is connected to the image television has created today. A group study that was done in 2000, by an employment-marketing agency, JWT Communications asked students about their impression of nursing. Later in LeMarie’s article she states, “…of 1,800 school students who said they got their most striking impression of nursing from ER.” (LeMarie, 2004). This shows that many people don’t really know what the ‘real’ role of a nurse consists of.
Another image that has been provided for the public deals with a serious life crisis, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) that occurred in Toronto, Canada. This image of nursing was created within the press reporting on the event through newspapers, radio stations and television. The articles shared many views of nurses and a very few responded to the positive effects the nurses were making for their patients. The press barely touched on how nurses put themselves at risk for getting SARS and even several nurses were exposed to SARS. This shows how dedicated nurses have become with their patients but also how little the press does to show this side of the profession.
To further show that people don’t understand the role of nurses there is a time in the year that humiliates the profession. Halloween has become a tradition for our culture and the kinds of costumes that are made today are becoming deceptive. Halloween costumes are depicting the professionalism of many careers along with those are nurses. These costumes create the image of nurses as being eye candy or in other words a sex symbol for the public. Over the years nurses have been a very popular Halloween costume. This makes them look very unprofessional and no respect for themselves as people. Everyday attire for nurses usually consists of a pair of scrubs not a white jumper miniskirt. Making scrubs clearly look more professional than that one piece low cut nurse outfit. Hospitals that treat patients in a variety of ways have a very different dress code then that of Halloween. Nurses should not be viewed as wearing these skimpy outfits but as professional health care providers. Not only does the public support these images by purchasing the costumes, but real life authority supports it in some way. Taking it another step further has been seen in real live hospitals. Within Spain there are many hospitals that have been catching the news for their strict rules regarding their dress code. This was a hot topic for Greg Gutfeld, the host of Fox News Channel’s Redeye, on April 1, 2008. Gutfeld introduces the topic showing actual photos of Halloween costumes and stating, “…who could possibly be against [the clinic’s miniskirt move]?” (Summers, 2008). These Spain hospitals are not only making nurses look less professional they are cutting into the budget of those who chose not to support the dress code. Within the article, Wear skirts, caps and aprons…or lose 30 Euros, discusses the finance issue behind this dress code. The article states, “…a clinic in Cadiz, Spain has told its nurses they will be docked pay if they fail to dress in “miniskirts”.” (Summers, 2008). Later the article brings into perspective how much these nurses are losing from their monthly pay. It states, “According to the reports, nurses who do not follow the code will lose 30 Euros of their pay each month.” (Summers, 2008). Translate that into American dollars and it is about 45 dollars that those nurse are losing. This isn’t a whole lot of money but it’s unfair and unethical to dock an employee’s pay because of that clothing they decide to not wear. Nurse shouldn’t be forced to wear uncomfortable clothing to a job that is so fast paced. Unlike many of the images media has created for the profession of nursing the real image of nurses is completely the opposite. Today nurses take on a lot more responsible for patients not while admitted but also once they leave the hospital premise. They are involved in creating a plan of care and discharging outcomes. Nurses do several rounds within the hospital unit to meet many of their patients’ daily needs. Nursing is very professional and really has most of the contact with health care patients. Despite the various things that nurses do throughout their shifts there is a little amount of effort to support their duties. The public is not getting a clear picture of what the profession of nursing entails. Instead the public is being given an image of unprofessionalism. The media has created various views of nurses through television shows all the way to the press reporting news. None of these images are showing how nurses become people’s heroes. The media needs to refocus on the importance of the profession of nursing because the public and nurses deserve a correct portrayal.
References
Hall, L., Angus, J., Peter, E., O’Brien-Pallas, L., Wynn, F., & Donner, G. (2003). Media Portrayal of Nurses’ Perspectives and Concerns in the SARS Crisis in Toronto. Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 35(3), 211-216. Retrieved from Academic Search Premier database.
LeTourneau, B. (2004). Physicians and Nurses: Friends or Foes?. (pp. 12-15). American
College of Healthcare Executives. Retrieved from Academic Search Premier database.
LeMarie, B. (2004, September 20). Sandy Summers, on media portrayals of nurses. NurseWeek, Retrieved from http://www.nurseweek.com/5min/SandySummers.asp
Summers, S. (2008, March 28). Wear skirts, caps and aprons…or lose 30 Euros. Retrieved from http://www.nursingadvocacy.org/news/2008/mar/28_spanish_skirts.html Summers, S. (2008, April 1). Wear the miniskirts and just save some lives. Retrieved from
http://nursingadvocacy.org/news/2008/apr/01_redeye.html
Media’s portraits of nursing are creating an unrealistic image of the profession that is making it seem unattractive to the public.
The importance of nursing within the health care system is being overlooked and is basically saying that nursing doesn’t matter. A popular image that the profession of nursing has been given for many years is that they are physicians’ servants. To speak about the topic a nurse herself, Bree LeMarie, MS, RN discusses her thoughts on the profession before she decided to enter the profession. She recalls, “At 16, the media already had me believing nursing was all about serving physicians and being a scut-work saint.” (LeMarie, 2004). LeMarie changed her mind a few years later after she discovered nurses really have independence and
autonomy. Among speaking out about this issue with these images of nurses is, Barbara LeTourneau MD., MBA, CHE, CPE, vice president, Medical Affairs, Regions Hospital of St. Paul, Minnesota. LeTourneau states her opinion with, “Those were the days when, if a physician arrived on the unit to make patient rounds, a nurse brought the physician a cup of coffee and maybe a donut.” (pg. 12). LeTourneau is referring to the time when health care was still fairly new and there wasn’t as many strict rules, which was clearly before the 80’s. During these days physicians were more involved with patient care and actually made rounds on the unit. Barbara later brings up the point that these were the days when health caregivers were allowed to smoke on the ward. She also comments on the fact that, this was during the times nurses weren’t as knowledgeable and didn’t have the skills to work independently as they do now. Today that is not the case and media should not be continuing this image for the public.
In fact these were the conditions of health care years ago but now some hospitals won’t even allow anyone to smoke within their premises. This is one of the many changes that have occurred with hospitals. Another change is that, nurses today are much more knowledgeable and can make many decisions regarding the patient’s plan of care with consult from the physician. Physicians are rarely seen within a hospital unit and when they are it’s for very short periods of time. Real life nurses are the health professionals that have the most patient contact. They have become very liable for their patients’ lives these days. Even though this image was created many years ago, people today still believe that’s the truth about nursing.
Along with having the public believe those false images of nurses that media has created are the falsified images various medical television shows create. A few examples of these shows that belittle and misrepresent nurses and other health professions include: ER, Scrubs, Grey’s Anatomy and House. Within LeMarie’s article, Sandy Summers, on media portrayal of nurses, she discusses where the most harm is being done. She states that, “Television’s ER has got to be nursing’s public enemy No. 1. They reach so many people; 20 million to 30 million in the U.S.” (LeMarie, 2004). That’s doesn’t even include the many millions of people around the world that ER reaches.
Nursing’s number one enemy, ER, is putting a negative image on nurses, which is affecting the future of the profession. Recruitment of students to enter the career of nursing is going to lead to the creation of a shortage. Many will say in a few years that the shortage in nurses is connected to the image television has created today. A group study that was done in 2000, by an employment-marketing agency, JWT Communications asked students about their impression of nursing. Later in LeMarie’s article she states, “…of 1,800 school students who said they got their most striking impression of nursing from ER.” (LeMarie, 2004). This shows that many people don’t really know what the ‘real’ role of a nurse consists of.
Another image that has been provided for the public deals with a serious life crisis, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) that occurred in Toronto, Canada. This image of nursing was created within the press reporting on the event through newspapers, radio stations and television. The articles shared many views of nurses and a very few responded to the positive effects the nurses were making for their patients. The press barely touched on how nurses put themselves at risk for getting SARS and even several nurses were exposed to SARS. This shows how dedicated nurses have become with their patients but also how little the press does to show this side of the profession.
To further show that people don’t understand the role of nurses there is a time in the year that humiliates the profession. Halloween has become a tradition for our culture and the kinds of costumes that are made today are becoming deceptive. Halloween costumes are depicting the professionalism of many careers along with those are nurses. These costumes create the image of nurses as being eye candy or in other words a sex symbol for the public. Over the years nurses have been a very popular Halloween costume. This makes them look very unprofessional and no respect for themselves as people. Everyday attire for nurses usually consists of a pair of scrubs not a white jumper miniskirt. Making scrubs clearly look more professional than that one piece low cut nurse outfit. Hospitals that treat patients in a variety of ways have a very different dress code then that of Halloween. Nurses should not be viewed as wearing these skimpy outfits but as professional health care providers. Not only does the public support these images by purchasing the costumes, but real life authority supports it in some way. Taking it another step further has been seen in real live hospitals. Within Spain there are many hospitals that have been catching the news for their strict rules regarding their dress code. This was a hot topic for Greg Gutfeld, the host of Fox News Channel’s Redeye, on April 1, 2008. Gutfeld introduces the topic showing actual photos of Halloween costumes and stating, “…who could possibly be against [the clinic’s miniskirt move]?” (Summers, 2008). These Spain hospitals are not only making nurses look less professional they are cutting into the budget of those who chose not to support the dress code. Within the article, Wear skirts, caps and aprons…or lose 30 Euros, discusses the finance issue behind this dress code. The article states, “…a clinic in Cadiz, Spain has told its nurses they will be docked pay if they fail to dress in “miniskirts”.” (Summers, 2008). Later the article brings into perspective how much these nurses are losing from their monthly pay. It states, “According to the reports, nurses who do not follow the code will lose 30 Euros of their pay each month.” (Summers, 2008). Translate that into American dollars and it is about 45 dollars that those nurse are losing. This isn’t a whole lot of money but it’s unfair and unethical to dock an employee’s pay because of that clothing they decide to not wear. Nurse shouldn’t be forced to wear uncomfortable clothing to a job that is so fast paced. Unlike many of the images media has created for the profession of nursing the real image of nurses is completely the opposite. Today nurses take on a lot more responsible for patients not while admitted but also once they leave the hospital premise. They are involved in creating a plan of care and discharging outcomes. Nurses do several rounds within the hospital unit to meet many of their patients’ daily needs. Nursing is very professional and really has most of the contact with health care patients. Despite the various things that nurses do throughout their shifts there is a little amount of effort to support their duties. The public is not getting a clear picture of what the profession of nursing entails. Instead the public is being given an image of unprofessionalism. The media has created various views of nurses through television shows all the way to the press reporting news. None of these images are showing how nurses become people’s heroes. The media needs to refocus on the importance of the profession of nursing because the public and nurses deserve a correct portrayal.
References
Hall, L., Angus, J., Peter, E., O’Brien-Pallas, L., Wynn, F., & Donner, G. (2003). Media Portrayal of Nurses’ Perspectives and Concerns in the SARS Crisis in Toronto. Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 35(3), 211-216. Retrieved from Academic Search Premier database.
LeTourneau, B. (2004). Physicians and Nurses: Friends or Foes?. (pp. 12-15). American
College of Healthcare Executives. Retrieved from Academic Search Premier database.
LeMarie, B. (2004, September 20). Sandy Summers, on media portrayals of nurses. NurseWeek, Retrieved from http://www.nurseweek.com/5min/SandySummers.asp
Summers, S. (2008, March 28). Wear skirts, caps and aprons…or lose 30 Euros. Retrieved from http://www.nursingadvocacy.org/news/2008/mar/28_spanish_skirts.html Summers, S. (2008, April 1). Wear the miniskirts and just save some lives. Retrieved from
http://nursingadvocacy.org/news/2008/apr/01_redeye.html