Lifetime's Movie-Range of Motion

[MQ Edna]

Today I watched a new movie made by Lifetime called Range of Motion. I was appalled by the way they portrayed health care providers. They cast them as rude, uncaring, and unprofessional. We cannot let this movie continue to play!! I feel that this movie gives a negative image of nurses to the young people who are considering a career in the health care professions. And we desperately need new recruits!! I e-mailed Lifetime and told them what I thought of their movie. I would like all of you to do the same. It next plays on Thursday, December 14, at 9:00PM EST. Watch it and then go to Lifetime.com and let them know we are much more caring than they have cast us to be. I am especially surprised that the movie was made by Lifetime given the fact that the nursing profession is made up of mostly women. We cannot let this continue!!!!!

[fergus51]

It is just a movie though. I am always surprised at how seriously nurses take how they are portrayed in the media. And let's face it, I've worked with nurses who were as bad as the ones in that movie. I've heard nurses call patients beached whales and even words that I won't write on this board. And I have heard them make sexual comments about patents and family members. Not "professional" in my opinion. I agree with you that most nurses are caring, but a lot aren't and until that changes I won't protest about a movie that portrays nurses in an unfavourable light.

[OC_An Khe]

Originally posted by fergus51:

It is just a movie though. I am always surprised at how seriously nurses take how they are portrayed in the media. And let's face it, I've worked with nurses who were as bad as the ones in that movie. I've heard nurses call patients beached whales and even words that I won't write on this board. And I have heard them make sexual comments about patents and family members. Not "professional" in my opinion. I agree with you that most nurses are caring, but a lot aren't and until that changes I won't protest about a movie that portrays nurses in an unfavourable light.

Yes I've heard those "uprofessional" comments myself. But I couldn't disagree with you more about nursing and the media. It seems nurses are always portrayed in an unfavorable light. When has any tv/ movie showed nursing anywhere near reality. I'd like to know which ones have so I ould watch.

Don't underestimate the power of the visual images have on peoples perception of nurses.

[fergus51]

You could say the same thing for cop shows, lawyer shows, etc. My dad was a cop for 33 years and hates cop shows. The cops are always either doughnut eating fools or rascist cops who beat up any black man they can find. My cousin the lawyer can't stand ALly McBeal or Law and Order because they're either anorexic nymphos or sleazy sheisters. No profession is accurately portrayed in the media because if they were it wouldn't be entertaining.

Nurses are always either saints or sluts and I really don't care much either way because I know my patients trust ME. A recent survey just ranked nurses as the most ethical profession so I don't believe the argument that the media is controlling people's notions of what a nurse is. Patients are not that stupid. Nurses nowadays are WAY too concerned about image and not concerned enough about the reality. I'm more worried about the unprofessional nurses in my hospital than how they are portrayed on TV.

[Jenny P]

I didn't see this particular show, but Friday night I watched a show on the Discovery Channel called "Hospitals, the future is now" or something to that effect. It was based at Duke University, and covered the transplant program, a CV surgical pt., a pt. with RA who had hip replacements, and a guy who adjusted his own halo traction frame. I missed about a total of 5 minutes of the show around some commericals towards the end of the show; but for the rest of the show, there was only 1 nurse mentioned (and she gave discharge instructions to a pt.); otherwise, it was all "the doctors" and "the staff". Even physical therapy and radiation therapy were mentioned, but the word "nurse" was only used in that 1 instance that I saw. It's bad enough that we are portrayed as being unprofessional, but for a hour long show to totally ignore nurses is beyond my comprehension. If we are supposed to be such a big part of the health care industry; where are we in this picture? Were the nurses at Duke all replaced by non-nurses? Which is worse, to be portrayed incorrectly, or not at all?