Saving Lives

Last year, at the ASPAN Conference held in Grapevine, TX, the opening speaker talked for almost an hour about the negative media portrayal of nurses in popular television programmes that include Soap Operas, prime time TV shows such as House and Gray's Anatomy, Scrubs and many more. At the time, there were many people in the audience who spoke up and expressed their opinion that it was 'entertainment', 'nobody believed it to be truth' and that 'some people take themselves too seriously.' I tended to side with them, but then I found a site called The Truth About Nursing which I found to be very interesting. I think my opinion has shifted somewhat. Why can't television programmes be entertaining AND factual? For years it has been driving me crazy that a patient on Life Support is intubated and talking with the side rails down, or on nasal prongs and 'close to death.' One time, I think it was on the Y&R, a young child on life support (and nasal prongs) died while the nurse was just standing there, sadly watching the child die. No CPR, no attempt at any kind of calling out for help...just the thin annoying pitch of a flat line on the monitor. That's just one example.
Anyway, it's food for thought. We all know the important work that we do, and that hospitals around the world could not function without Nurses. Isn't it time that we get the respect that is due?

If you are interested in reading more about this, here is a book that is being promoted by The Truth About Nursing:
Saving Lives: Why the Medias Portrayal of Nurses puts us all at Risk

Information from the dust jacket of Saving Lives:
Popular TV shows like Grey’s Anatomy, ER, and House lead people to think that nurses simply push gurneys, drive romantic plots, and provide a human backdrop for the real action. However, those of us among the 12 million nurses worldwide know the reality is far more fascinating, demanding and important.
Written by the leaders of The Truth About Nursing, the organization at the forefront of challenging and changing representations of nurses, Saving Lives highlights the essential role nurses play. It explores the public’s perception of nurses and spells out the greatest myths about nursing, drawing on examples from television shows, ads, news, and other media.
Saving Lives exposes the media’s role in reinforcing stereotypes that help fuel the nursing shortage. But it is also a call to action. Saving Lives offers concrete steps to help nurses and their supporters educate the public about nursing.
For millions of people worldwide, nurses are the difference between life and death, self-sufficiency and dependency, and hope and despair. Nonetheless a lack of appreciation for nursing has contributed to a global shortage that is one of our most urgent public health crises. There are not enough nurses available to monitor patients, provide high-tech treatments, advocate for patients, and teach patients how to live with their conditions. Poor understanding of what nurses do undermines claims for adequate staffing, and leads to a lack of resources for nursing practice, education, and research. All of that means worse patient outcomes, including death.
Saving Lives is destined to change public perceptions, thereby empowering nurses and helping them get the respect they need to save lives.

The "Not What They Say I Am" flyer sends a message that many media depictions of nurses are not accurate and that nurses object to them, in part because they undermine nurses' claims to adequate resources. This is a key message of the Truth About Nursing, and one explored in detail in our new book Saving Lives.

The ironic "Hooray for Hollywood" flyer sends the message that, in our view, there has been little for nurses to cheer about in recent Hollywood depictions of their work. Popular TV shows like "House" and "Grey's Anatomy" have repeatedly offered inaccurate and damaging images of nursing, and we hope the flyer will cause those who see it to reconsider those images. The small print on the flyers directs people to our book and The Truth's website.

Find more information at http://www.truthaboutnursing.org/

I'll throw the question to you. Do you think that the media's portrayal of nurses is disrespectful and highly inaccurate, or do you think it's all just entertainment and there shouldn't be a big deal made about it?