The Image of Nurses in the Media

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Main body
Conclusion
References

Introduction

Currently, the planet is seemingly going through a COVID-19 pandemic, and the prestige of the nurse’s job should rise. There are tons of videos and sketches on the Internet about how doctors and nurses are equated with superheroes. Medical professionals take part in various photo challenges, where they photograph their faces after a difficult shift. However, not everything is so in reality as we would like to see on the Internet. Despite the circumstances of life, there is still a tendency for the depreciation of nursing.

Main body

Historically, the nurse’s image has consistently been that of a less skilled and dependent physician assistant. In different periods, the nurse demonstrated peculiar emotional characteristics: angelically kind, naive, stupid, hysterical, etc. I can see that in TV series, TV talk shows, comics, etc. Often the nurses look great there, but they are not valuable as medical professionals. It is essential here to touch upon a topic that feminists in vain ignored for unknown reasons. The total sexualization of the nursing profession is characteristic of many countries, cultures, and generations. Nurses want to marry young, promising, and attractive doctors. In this situation, the nurse confronts the figure of an erudite surgeon.

It is essential to understand that this aspect affects society’s attitude towards workers, the influx of new young personnel, and funding from the state and private corporations. Young people distinguished by their impressionability indicate a terrible mood in society and the building of a bad image (in the media) for a particular profession. Surveys of high school students show well what professions are on the crest in modern times. Young people often watch TV shows, read blogs and draw conclusions for themselves about the desired profession.

Many journalists with interest in the medical field note that nurses are too modest about their success. They are genuinely surprised at the flattering comments in their direction. It seems that nurses have long since come to terms with the role that society has assigned them. They do not declare their qualifications, advise cautiously, or do not advise at all (Summers & Broome, 2019). Their non-medical colleagues (administrative staff, public relations, etc.) support this attitude.

Not all countries have a community of nurses who share their experiences, open new facets of the profession to society, and discuss pressing issues. Doctors of various specialties (surgeons, gynecologists, etc.) pay much more attention to their community and communication within a large group of specialists; nurses seem to deny themselves as medical professionals. Perhaps for themselves, they are just overseers and watchmen; nurses are accustomed to carrying the burden of responsibility on themselves, not turning to anyone for help. Small wages show them their place in this entire substantial medical system, and they become demotivated over time.

Nursing practice is related to science and art simultaneously, as it combines the exact knowledge of dosages, names, etc. At the same time, the nurse needs to find an approach to very different patients and their relatives. A nurse must be a master of communications, good at time management, and an organized person who can multitask. The lifestyle that a nurse leads at work is really about the art of managing oneself and others. The life of a nurse is stressful daily, and workers in this area are left unprotected from colleagues and patients. Therefore, you need to be a psychologically mature person to start working as a nurse.

A nurse who has mastered only the scientific part of her profession will not provide the appropriate level of support to the patient. She will be unduly carried away by papers, filing cabinets, notes, and dates on documents. Perhaps she will avoid stress at first, but then she will still get bogged down in it, given the large flow of patients. When our relatives fall ill, we, first of all, expect understanding and care from the nurse and not thorough and quick filling of medical documentation. However, people who are not related to medicine have no right to discredit this skill.

If she ignores the scientific side of her profession, she will lack the qualifications for caring for patients. In films and TV shows, it is usually silent that the nurse must perform vital measures to save the patient in the absence of a doctor on-site. In addition, nurses work with emergency patients who have irregular heartbeat, breathing, and general condition. The knowledge of such a specialist must correspond to the latest trends in medicine. In addition, this knowledge must be unshakable; otherwise, the nurse will lose the trust of the patients.

It is challenging to name real nurses who would have a negative or positive impact on the image of this noble and essential profession. It has already been said above that nurses rarely come under the spotlight. Although nurses can occupy high positions, their voices are still quiet, unfortunately. As mentioned above, this may be since nurses have absorbed a system of social expectations that they have no qualifications, so they cannot openly consult other people.

Unless I can remember the roles of nurses in TV shows such as House. For the sake of a beautiful scene, the directors of this series removed a lot of details from the nursing profession and transferred them to the field of medical work. People who have been undergoing severe treatment in the hospital understand well that the doctor does not put on an IV, does not give an injection, and does not watch the hospital bed. Doctors usually lack the passion and scientific interest in the constant and almost secret observation of the patient’s life.

If people around me find out that the wife of a famous businessman or wealthy person is a nurse, this goes well with patriarchal attitudes. People find it logical that a nurse is a caring spouse. Such a spouse will regard her husband as the center of the planet and devote life to caring for him. In old age and illness, she will be next to him, accepting all his physiological deficiencies.

The image of nurses can be improved by creating strong, determined, and courageous women in the media. It will be enough already if concerns about family and low qualifications are removed from stereotypes in the series. These changes will allow young people to go to college after school and pursue a nursing profession. They will not doubt that their parents will not like it, that their friends will laugh at their choice.

Conclusion

Modern media and the Internet, despite the improvement in the situation with COVID-19, still contain a lot of ridiculous stereotypes about nurses. Nurses appear to be uneducated people, low-skilled workers, and subordinates to both patients and doctors; it harms public perception of the profession. Schoolchildren do not choose this profession as the desired one because they do not want to be associated with jealous, hysterical heroes of TV series. To improve the image of nurses in society, we should attend to change stereotypes to real stories of the courage and professionalism of workers in this field.

References

Summers, S. J., & Broome, M. E. (2019). Improving representation of nurses in the media. Nursing Outlook, 67(1), 1–2. Web.

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The Image of Nurses in the Media

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