This is the article that I published in Horizons, the newspaper I've been editing for the Louisiana Association of Student Nurses. The original title was "The Portrayal of Nurses in Recent Media: Getting Better One Thursday Night at a Time." It's not bad. I had to edit it down a bit to make it fit for the allotted space.
The publication of Ken Kesey’s acclaimed bestseller One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest in 1962 permanently altered the public’s perception of nurses, albeit specifically psychiatric nurses, placing the professionals who comprise the filed in a somewhat negative and tyrannical light. Years later, the novel was adapted for the big screen and turned into a film that swept the Academy Awards, even bringing an Oscar to actress Louise Fletcher for her portrayal of the icy cold character, Nurse Ratched. One might assume that in the nearly fifty years since the release of the book, the media’s depiction of the field of nursing would have improved dramatically, or at least have become far more realistic…right? Well, not necessarily.
Every year, major professional nursing organizations come forward to review the best and the worst that our media-driven society has to hold up as public barometers for professional nurses. What’s more, many of the most popular movies and television programs fail to make the cut for being considered positive – or even realistic – interpretations.
Perhaps the greatest example of an incredibly well received television show that fails to supply the public with a true-to-life image of nursing is the hit ABC prime time soap, Grey’s Anatomy. Admittedly, the story has revolved around a group of wet-behind-the-ears surgical residents since day one, but many medical professionals may only find themselves able to suspend their disbelief for just so long before crying foul for inaccuracies. Known for its emotionally draining cliffhanger season finales (who could forget the night Izzey cut Denny’s LVAD wire and Dr. Burke got shot in the parking lot, or the season five shocker in which the same Dr. Stevens donned her prom dress and met with Dr. George O’Malley, who was dressed in his military cadet uniform, to walk with him toward the assumed hereafter) and sparklingly crisp dialogue (at times, one can’t help to notice that people don’t really talk like that) that seems to have woven its way into the middle American lexicon (seriously), the hit show is definitely not additionally known for showing all the right professionals performing all the right tasks.
The board certified cardio-thoracic surgeons are often shown doing most of the duties that would realistically fall within the scope of practice for nursing. The acclaimed neurosurgeons have been seen starting their own IVs and charting progress on patients that would normally be found on the face of a nurse’s note; however, at times, Grey’s Anatomy has succumbed to the public backlashes for having physicians playing nurses’ roles. In fact, the show has recently given its audience a totally-against-all-stereotype character who just happens to be a nurse.
Daniel Sunjata plays Nurse Eli, a surgical ICU Registered Nurse who has caught the eye of the sage and single Dr. Miranda Bailey following last year’s catastrophic cliffhanger that included a mass shooting at Seattle Grace and a terrified Bailey looking down the barrel of a gunman who was targeting every one of the hospital’s surgeons (ironically, Bailey was saved from meeting the fate of many of her co-workers by telling the killer that she was not a surgeon…she was a nurse). Finally, after nearly seven years on the air, Grey’s Anatomy’s creator Shonda Rhimes gave us a nurse with a strong and indelible presence. Instead of any of his co-identifying characteristics becoming his descriptors, the audience is being treated to a nurse who is every bit as credible as the men and women who comprise the surgical staff. What’s even better is that he’s proving to be every bit as sordid and lascivious in his extracurricular activities: his recent actions have included leaving Dr. Bailey dirty notes in her patient’s charts, something on par with the myriad days and nights of various hook-ups between the surgical residents in the on-call rooms.
Finally, those professionals who will be reviewing this year’s media portrayal of nurses might have one less program to shake a stick at for sub-par realism or showing nurses in a negative and stereotypical light. Now, Showtime’s wildly successful Nurse Jackie and Edie Falco’s eponymous role as the pill popping lead…well… that’s another story.
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