I really enjoyed learning about how everyone came up with their blog names today. Thank you to everyone that answered. It was fun!
I have been working on my assignments again and I can’t get one part of it out of mind. I went into nursing because of a great nurse that took care of me years ago. I had surgery and while it was nothing major, it was still a big deal to me. I had one horrible nurse who was obviously there for her paycheck and then I had another nurse who changed my life. She treated me with compassion and didn’t act like I was a burden to her. It wasn’t very long after that time that I decided that nursing what was I wanted to do with my life. Was I going to work with children, adults, geriatric, all of the above? I didn’t know. I just knew I wanted to help people the way I was helped.
My assignment asked if media played a role in my becoming a nurse. I was in nursing school when the events of September 11, 2001 occurred. It was then that I realized how important the role of the nurse is; how important my job could be. I was going to make a difference in the world we live in; doing my part to make this a better place for myself and my family. I know this all sounds so corny, but I really felt that and still do although now my focus is on women and children.
So, while media didn’t play a role in my becoming a nurse, it does have an effect on the way the public sees nurses. Do you think it is coincidental that the naughty nurse persona is a big hit on Halloween? It isn’t. Media has portrayed women nurses as gold diggers out for the rich doctor and there to serve the needs of her patients… namely men and those needs may not be family friendly. Then you have television shows like Nurse Jackie (which I actually love) that shows a nurse as the main role (yay!) who is addicted to narcotics (boo!). While giving credit to the nurse in the main role, they also took away from her credibility by making her a drug addict. These are just two examples of how media portrays nurses. There are even organizations (nursingadvocacy.org, for example) that strive to change the image of the nurse to a more positive one.
My assignment was to interview 3 people and interpret their answers to reveal what the image of nursing is today. So, play along will you? What do you think about nurses? Do you think nurses just ride the coattails of doctors? Are they important contributing members or just helpers in the health care team? What do you think of when you hear or see “nurse”?
By the way, I am done with my assignment so you are not being used as guinea pigs. I am truly just curious now what others think. I will let you all know how I did on this assignment… if I ever get my grades back.
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