Portrayal of Nursing in the Media

1. Allison Mentink, Christine Ostendorf, Jessica Gums University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire Portrayal of Nursing in the Media

2. 1980’s – 1990’s • Nurses were shown as peripheral assistants to dominant physicians • St. Elsewhere 1982-88 showed occasional formidable nurse character • China Beach 1988-91 lead character colleen McMurphy was competent, tough army nurse but did not generally display much skill • TV sitcom Nurses 1991-94 treated nurses with some respect • Nightingales 1988-89 featured sexy nursing students who spent so much time partially undressed that outraged nurses actually managed to chase the show off the air • ER 1994 One of the most influential health care shows in history. Fairly realistic scenes, some of the best depictions of nursing ever to appear on network TV, occasionally showed serious nursing skill and autonomy, but as a whole depicted nurses as the handmaiden, as a skilled physician assistant who must defer to him.

3. 2000 - Present • 2000-2006 Strong Medicine on Lifetime had a handsome, articulate nurse midwife Peter Riggs, but other nurses were mute handmaidens • 2001-Present Scrubs, present main nurse Carla Espinosa at times shows real skill, but also shows doctors starting iv’s and hanging medications and providing virtually all care • House stated nurses were invented to pick patients up when they fall and to get him coffee • Private Practice only has one nurse/receptionist character-male midwife student

4. OUTLINE • Nursing 1980’s – present • We have all heard stories regarding nurses: killer nurses, incompetent nurses, poorly trained nurses and of course the entertainment media have their “naughty nurses” • Negative/derogatory portrayal of nursing in the media has become more prevalent over the past 50 years. This has heightened with more negative images in the past 20 years. • The medias portrayal of nurses is one of the most difficult to compete with

5. Professional Influences

6. CONCLUSION

7. REFERENCES