There has been a good bit of backlash from both the entertainment community and the nursing community about Nurse Jackie. The nursing community doesn't really like that Jackie (and to discuss another medical show Dr. House) has an addiction to painkillers.
She also bends the rules when it comes to many ethical concerns. While this makes for dramatic TV it would be pretty hard to do the things that Jackie does and still have a job. I understand these points, but I think that Jackie's actions on the show bring up many great topics for discussion in the medical community. Nurses are faced with similar moral and ethical decisions every day!
What are your thoughts? Do you watch Nurse Jackie or any other medical shows?
The image of a nurse that is portrayed in
the media is very important factor in how people think of nurses. This image
may be a healthy American’s main interaction with nursing and what a nurse
does. When people watch TV and movies and see certain negative or positive
portrayals of nurses this will be what they are thinking of when they interact
with nurses at the hospital or doctor’s office. One recent portrayal of nursing
on television is on the Showtime show, Nurse
Jackie.
On Nurse
Jackie the main character is Jackie Peyton a veteran Emergency Department
nurse. From the first episode it is evident to viewers that Jackie is a very
good nurse with questionable ethics and it is also evident that Jackie has a
drug addiction to painkillers. Jackie often skirts hospital rules in order to
do what she feels is best for the patient. Scenarios include Jackie forging an
organ donor card, stealing money from a man who assaulted a prostitute, helping
a man with lymphoma find marijuana, and helping a patient that was an illegal
immigrant leave the hospital so he won’t be arrested (Truth about Nursing, May
24, 2009). While the things that Jackie is doing are unethical and in many
cases illegal, her actions allow a commentary between viewers about the ethical
dilemmas and challenges that nurses face on a daily basis. From Sorrell (2009),
“Nurses’ comments on blogs have noted that Jackie speaks out candidly
about injustices in a way that they wish they could. Many nurses can relate to
the irony of the hospital administrator warning Jackie about the hazardous
effects on patients of working double shifts, and then her being asked to stay
for a second shift.”
Perhaps
by viewing episodes of Nurse Jackie the
general public can begin to understand how difficult a nurse’s job can be and
that it encompasses so much more than following orders or babysitting a
patient.
Another important aspect to discuss is Jackie’s portrayal as
a nurse in the media. Unlike many older TV shows that had nurses as main
characters, Jackie is not seen as subservient, meek, or docile. From “The
Henchman of God”, “But nothing else
here reinforces the stereotypes that have led the public to undervalue nursing.
Jackie is deeply flawed, like real people, but she is not a brainless physician
helper, a naughty
nurse, or an angel…” (2009). In many episodes Jackie stands up for
what she believes is in the patient’s best interests and fights against anyone
that stands in her way, whether it be a physician or the nursing administrator.
She knows what she she thinks is best and will do everything she can to make
sure the patient gets what they need. From Contemporary
Nursing, “Nursing is first and foremost ‘knowledge work’. Knowledge workers
are people who require specialized education to do work that requires
judgment.” (p 35, 2011). With many media portrayals of nurses, it may not be
evident that nurses are autonomous individuals who use critical thinking
constantly to keep their patients safe. On many shows nurses are seen to take
orders from doctors and perhaps hold a patient’s hand to comfort them. While
this is true of real life nurses to some degree, nursing encompasses so much
more than simple care giving actions. When nurses are not seen as ‘knowledge
workers’ their full value as competent healthcare providers cannot be
understood by the general population.
If nursing as a profession is to be fully
understood and taken seriously, then we must change the way nursing is
portrayed on TV and in the media at large. A show like Nurse Jackie is a good start in the right direction. While Jackie
has many flaws as a person and as a nurse, there are many good aspects of her
too. She shows viewers that nurses can and do think for themselves and make
critical decisions to help their patients. The more exposure the general
population gets to intelligent, passionate nurses the better their
understanding of what nurses do in their professional lives.
References
Cherry, B. & Jacob, S. R. (2011).
Contemporary Nursing: Issues, trends and management. St. Louis, Missouri:
Mosby, Inc.
Sorrell, J.M., (July 22, 2009) "Ethics: The
Value of Nursing Ethics: What about Nurse Jackie?" OJIN: The
Online Journal of Issues in Nursing Vol. 14 No. 3. DOI:
10.3912/OJIN.Vol14No03EthCol01
Summers, S. (2009, June 8). The Henchman
of God. Retrieved from http://www.truthaboutnursing.org/news/2009/jun/08_jackie.html
Unknown Author. (2009, May 24). Summer
2009 TV Preview. Retrieved from http://www.truthaboutnursing.org/news/2009/may/24_summer_tv.html
