Annoyed by nursing commerical they keep running

CeilingCat, ASN, RN · Jan 5, 2011

That's the J&J commercial, isn't it? It makes me want to throw soiled peri pads at the screen, I get so annoyed!

I don't know why but I felt it was annoying and perhaps even insulting. I felt confused. I was not sure what they were selling - it was not a clear PSA so what was it? The music felt fake, so it seems the whole thing came off as insincere. If it was not on national TV by a big corporation, it would almost seem sarcastic.

Nurses do make a difference - there is do denying it. But are so dull that we need a PR campaign by a medical supply company to tell us we matter?

rashana · Jan 5, 2011

I agree. It's condescending and they don't do it to other professionals. Imagine saying to a lawyer, "You make a difference." Or to a doctor "You make a difference." It's almost like saying "Good girl," or "good boy" while these same pharma companies are part of the problem in Healthcare today. They should offer more money, more status, more respect. But at this time, they are the ones who are paying the lobbyists to keep health care from those who need it. They are the ones who are outsourcing our meds and bypassing FDA inspections for profit etc. Also, intuitively, we know that they are always going to target the Nurses and Nurse Practitioners who will then be ordering their products. We have to remember that we make a difference but a pat on the head just doesn't do it. Besides, it's for Nurse Educators, not for nurses. And if hospitals didn't replace us with unskilled workers at the bedside, there would be more nurse educators to train more nurses because it would be more worth it in a material sense. Not saying that "service" is not worth a lot more than many of the other jobs available today but to pat us on the head and appeal to the "saint" in us doesn't work if we need to provide for our families.

PghRN30 · Jan 5, 2011

Well that one commertial that i found on you tube is about nurse educators. There is another one running that until it got to the end i thought it was going to be an add for a trade school that has an actual nursing program. I couldn't find that one on you tube. The nurse educator one isnt as bad....the other one is really cheesey

mstutz0201 · Jan 5, 2011

There may or may not be a nursing shortage where you live and work, but pay attention to future demographics. The first Baby Boomers just turned 65; as this very large population continues to age, the demand for nursing services will sky-rocket. Add to this the large number of practicing nurses who are part of the Baby Boom generation who are at or near retirement. All of the demographics I have seen indicate that there are not enough younger nurses practicing (or in school) to meet this demand. That is why many states have been trying to fund more nursing education programs. However, since most of our states are at or near bankruptcy, this funding is likely to fall through.

gbutcher · Jan 5, 2011

Does anyone still see the nursing commercial that keeps running on TV. At the end it says "you're a nurse you make a difference." I don't why but it annoys me to no end. Enough already!!! Most schools have a year long or more waiting list just to get in. There is no nursing shortage. Anyone else feel the same way??

Yes, I totally agree! There is not a nursing shortage. I found this out after spending a lot of money and time and am now in limbo. I am an RN who graduated in 2009 and I am still trying to find a job in a hospital. It's very discouraging.

Riseupandnurse · Jan 5, 2011

Totally agree with mstutzi0201 and with Professor Mike. The average age of nursing faculty is very high. Younger nurses who go in for more education can make so much more money being a nurse practitioner, so they gravitate to that area. And there never was a real nursing shortage, just over 400,000 RNs with a license who could practice (US government figures of those inactive in nursing) but didn't want to because of the deplorable working conditions at the bedside. The economy drew them back to practice, but soon many of them will be too old to continue. So there will be a real nursing shortage at that time. For the best analysis of the situation, Vanderbilt University has Dr. Peter Buerhaus, who specializes in this. That is a separate issue than the one with the commercial.

The problem I have with the commercial is that it really doesn't tell the truth about bedside nursing today. I just left practice, after more than 20 years. I wanted to make a difference, and often actually did, but it was too exhausting to run the obstacle course set up by all the state and JCAHO protocols, clueless administration and omnipresent family members with a sense of entitlement and all the nursing knowledge you can glean from surfing the Internet. It felt as though I was fighting my way through a minefield every time I tried to take care of a patient. The attraction of being faculty is that you can actually get in touch with the real purpose and blessings of nursing. I think as younger people see this and also develop family and personal lives they will not sacrifice for the dubious pleasures of nonstop work (a hallmark of the younger and wiser generation), more will go into nursing education. There just will be bottlenecks along the road.

Penelope_Pitstop, BSN, RN · Jan 5, 2011

Is it the Johnson & Johnson commercial with the cheesy background music?

That was the one I thought of when I read the post. It makes me want to put my head through a plate glass window! (You're a nurrrrrssssse......)

whalems · Jan 5, 2011

I am an FNP and a nurse educator. Whether or not you find the commercial cheesy, let's not loose sight of what it is saying: Nurses make a difference. If you are not making a difference and affecting change it is time to go find another profession.

I too live in the northeast and I do believe that there is currently a nursing shortage which will only get worse in the next few years.

It is true that many new grads from nursing programs are leaving school with very few job prospects, thus giving the appearance of a market glut. Many institutions are cutting positions or not replacing nurses when they leave. Thus you have fewer nurses taking care of more and sicker patients.

Hospitals are asking for nursing experience, impossible for new grads. In many hospitals in NYC, it is becoming more about being in the right place at the right time or having internal connections to find a job at present.

The average age of nurses at the bedside in the tri-state area (NY, NJ, CT) is in the mid forties--to which I ask "who will take care of me when I am sick?"

Nurses as a group tend to be very hard on each other and attacking a commercial is short sighted.

I LOVE BEING A NURSE (and have been for over 30 years) and am proud to say it. Ask my students--I hope that I practice what I preach!

momology · Jan 5, 2011

I feel they do imply a shortage. I emailed them that the situation is quite the opposite and they wrote back claiming there is a shortage and a projected shortage coming down the pike any day now. Not only have all the nursing schools cranked up enrollment, doubling and tripling size, HiB visas still happening, mass layoffs and mechanization, bank online print your own, outsourcing, etc. there is a more than ample supply of nurses. A symptom of this: You are considered stale after one year postgrad or out of the field. And there is rampant age discrimination. I hope someday all these people who have invested in themselves and undergone a rigorous educations will get to be nurses. But everyone should know the truth of the situation. The ad is misleading. It is nice to pay tribute to nurses though.

momology · Jan 5, 2011

grasshopper do enlighten us where is the urban area where you know of a shortage?

As for baby boomers supplying you with a coming shortage. Don't hold your breath they have 401Ks instead of pensions and little if any health insurance.

I think nurse educators should recuse themselves from the discussion as they have a vested interest.

swirlo · Jan 5, 2011

The Johnson and Johnson nursing commercial is annoying to me since I just failed nursing school. My grade was in the 90%, but I failed due to poor paperwork. This commercial knows how to "rub it in". I am transfering to another school, but that was 5 yrs. of hard work at the last school. I'm not even an LPN after all that time. Everytime I see the commercial that says, "You're a nurse." I think, no I'm not, and don't know if I'll every be.

orangeroom · Jan 6, 2011

I don't feel there's anything wrong with promoting nursing. The majority of nurses make a positive difference. Have you ever heard of the saying 'patience is a virtue' or it's worth waiting for? Who would you rather have as your nurse, someone who is wound up tighter than all get out, or someone who is patient? I love the commercial. Hokey music and all. Be proud, not picky.