Nurses are Underrated
How the importance of nurse’s role in the television medical drama shows nowadays are not well established.
How many of you has seen the shows Scrubs, House, ER, Grey’s Anatomy or Hopkins? For me, these shows are great and as a matter of fact I am a fan of House and Grey’s Anatomy. However, these shows are more focused on the resident physicians and the medical consultants . After watching my two favorite shows for quite sometime, I suddenly bothered by the thought that Nurses are underrated in these shows. What made me think this way? Let me tell you a short story.
I work as a Registered Nurse in an acute care setting here in Maryland, USA. One day, as I was taking care of my patient, who happened to be watching one of the above mentioned shows, she suddenly exclaimed. ” I cannot believe that! “. I asked her a question in a way of trying to make a conversation with her while I was giving a medication through her IV, “Did I miss something? What is it that you can’t believe ,Sweetie ?”. She replied, “When the patient calls, it is the nurses who comes in right away to help the patients and not the doctors.” . I smiled at her . It made me happy because my patient recognized the importance of Nurses in the healthcare setting. From that time on, I was wondering why there is no Television shows about nurses nowadays. So, I did some research and I found out that there was once a show “Nurse”, on CBS which is based on Peggy Anderson Novel. It is about a widow who resumed his career as a nurse in Manhattan. The show was aired from April 1981 to May 1982. I never had the chance to see the show because I just got here in America in 2002. In Australia, they have a Nurse TV show which is more of documentary.
There is so many medical drama in today’s television and since there is a nursing shortage, I really think that a television show about Nurses can help promote the importance of Nursing role in the healthcare industry. This way, I am hoping that the youth will be encouraged to join the Nursing profession because it is very rewarding to help others in need. After all, Nurse’s role is not just to carry out doctor’s orders. We work at the bedside from eight hours to twelve hours shift and sometimes more than that especially when the staffing is low. Nurses have colorful experiences in taking care of different patients from all walks of life. I am sending this message to everybody with the hope that you would all agree that Nurses deserve to be in the spotlight .
Nurses be proud, because you can make a difference.
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User Comments
diwata
On October 7, 2008 at 8:26 pm
yeah…they should come up with a show featuring nurse.that would be nice.
AJ
On October 9, 2008 at 1:22 am
WOW! IT’S THE FIRST TIME EVER READ A COMMENT LIKE THIS. AND A GREAT THOUGHT. I TOO IS AN RN. I REALLY SUPPORT HER THOUGHT. I FEEL NURSING IS REALLY A REWARDING PROFESSION, BUT UNRECOGNIZED. IT IS HIGH TIME WE HAVE APPRECIATE THE HARD WORK NURSES PUT IN.
Jessy
On October 9, 2008 at 1:27 am
This is a wonderful.
Shana
On October 9, 2008 at 1:33 am
I really enjoyed this post! i never realized how little nurses are represented on tv!! Nurses play a vital role in patient care. The shows on tv do not portray the truth behind nursing. It would be a good idea to have a show about true nursing!
Raji.
On October 9, 2008 at 1:51 am
Wonderful!!!It is true that nurses are the ones who care for a patient in need,but never been recognized or realised the role they play in the health care team.Being a nurse I feel that there should be some programmes/TV shows which would show what is real NURSING is.
tonia
On October 9, 2008 at 2:03 am
the same way u feel about the nurses always being there and the doctors are not is the same way i feel about the nurses not being there i am a tech in the maryland area and i feel that way about the techs we are underrated because we r always there beside the patients and the nurses are not who does the nurses send in the room to see whats wrong with the patients us “the techs” so u just can’t say the nurses are underrated cause we r too.
mona
On October 9, 2008 at 2:57 am
I completely agree with your article that nurses are underrated. I have been a nurse for over 6years now and I must say that I can’t see myself doing anything else. I come from a family of many nurses and so I learned early on to value nurses. I feel that the perception of the general public about what nurses do is changing for the better over the years as the world of healthcare is becoming more dynamic and complex. Because the media tend to influence public opinion and more so the minds of young viwer, I feel that a good television drama about nurses would really made a big difference.
adriline
On October 9, 2008 at 12:59 pm
It\’s nice to hear or read comments regarding how nurses work. One example that i can share is that,when nurses commits mistake it will usually be blown out of proportion it will even be sensationalized. But if doctors will be the one to commit mistake or negligence it will not be as celebrated as when nurses commits it. I am working here in Saudi for almost 4years and definitely nurses are just behind the doctors (they maybe more knowledgeable \”sometimes\”) but there are also times that we are the one\’s teaching them,and they can\’t deny the fact that they need a \”NURSE\”!!!!
AIM HIGH NURSES!!!!!!!!!!!
Christine
On October 9, 2008 at 10:07 pm
I just became an registered nurse but as working the the tech role for many years I have noticed that nurses are very much underated. For me I decide to become a nurse when I was an young girl and my aunt sent alot of time in the hospital and I loved the nursing staff. The nursing staff have a amazing impact on the patient physically and emotionally. To see how much the nurse cared for aunt was amazing they treated her like she was part of their family. Sadly she passed but they too was also heartbroken. Nursing is awarding and fulfilling sometimes hard but I love it!!!!!
gina
On October 10, 2008 at 5:47 pm
Thanks, Salve, for being so supportive and enthusiastic toward your fellow nurses. I guess the best we can hope for is the personal satisfaction of knowing that we really do help those in need in away that only a nurse can. And if we’re VERY lucky, we work side by side with nurses as caring of their coworkers as you.
Diana, RN
On October 13, 2008 at 7:01 am
I totally agree with you. I really don’t like the way the media down plays the role of the nurse in health care. I’ve tried to get into shows like ER and Grey’s Anatomy but always lose interest for that reason. I think we are highly underestimated in our abilities to independently care for patients. There are a lot of misconceptions about nurses as a result. The way I see it; most TV shows portray nurses as an “assistant” to the doctor, or as a symbol of an attractive bystander during surgery, or the submissive helper who waits on patients while doctors dictate all their moves. I may be exaggerating just a bit, but this is my perception of what I see on television. It really bothers me, knowing how hard nurses work toward advancement in the health care arena.
The fact that nurses are involved in scientific, research, scholarly activities, and legislation remains unknown to most people, especially the media. On several occasions, I’ve had my patients ask me “do you need to go to college to become a nurse? or “are there any hospital training programs for nurses?”. I find that most people are still very confused about the true role of the nurse, and unfortunately many people don’t know that nurses hold college degrees.
Jennifer
On October 21, 2008 at 10:05 am
Salve,
Not to knock the doctors, because I think the most important thing in the healthcare profession is for the nurses and doctors to work together as a team and respect each other for what we contribute to the care of each patient. It would be nice to see that in a TV show. Thanks Salve!!!
Could not agree more. Nurses are way underrated…especially the way television portrays it. Doctors see a patient for maybe a few minutes a day and write some orders on the chart. The nurses are the ones always at the bedside, and the ones that MAKE THE ORDERS HAPPEN. Without nurses those doctors orders are just words on paper that mean nothing. I have been a Registered Nurse for a little over 3 years and I definitely see the huge impact we have on the patients care. We are the ones that see crucial changes in patients and are in fact the “first responders” in saving patients’ lives. Without us the doctors would be lost!!
Sonia
On October 25, 2008 at 12:20 am
You are absolutely right..especially in some TV shows nurses are not portrayed as part of the medical care but instead as just a nurse in the background….you know what I have an idea…maybe we should go and make our own show about nurses…it would be a great hit. Because nurses are making the show it will give us more chances to show how valuable we are..you did a great job on the article and that is from one RN to another RN.
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