Nursing Image in the Media

This is a short little paper I wrote for my professional roles class, but I think that the discussion about nursing portrayal in the media is interesting, so here its.

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