Do people really look up at nurses?

GilaRRT · Nov 8, 2009

Have you ever came across those old censored/Mediaographic videos and posters with main characters dressed or identified as nurses?

We are talking about Media, not exactly the staple of intellectual thinking. You can find nearly every type of vocation and profession portrayed in Mediaography. Look at police officers, doctors, office workers, housewives, and nearly any walk of life you care to think of. Mediaography is not selective about who gets to do decadent things. Therefore, it is not the Media industry singling nursing out as all walks of life are represented.

Additionally, nursing has far bigger problems to worry about than focusing on the media habits of perverts.

roser13, ASN, RN · Nov 8, 2009

"Wait, do people really look up at nurses?"

Depends upon whether the people are lying in bed - then they have to look up at their nurse! :chuckle

PurpleLVN · Nov 8, 2009

We are talking about Media, not exactly the staple of intellectual thinking. You can find nearly every type of vocation and profession portrayed in Mediaography. Look at police officers, doctors, office workers, housewives, and nearly any walk of life you care to think of. Mediaography is not selective about who gets to do decadent things. Therefore, it is not the Media industry singling nursing out as all walks of life are represented.
Additionally, nursing has far bigger problems to worry about than focusing on the media habits of perverts.

ITA,very well stated!!!! :yeah:

PostOpPrincess, BSN, RN · Nov 8, 2009

If the nurses are taller than them, then yes. They have to look up. :loveya:

escapebigd · Nov 9, 2009

I always looked up to nurses and still do, and I feel very proud that I am going to be joining that profession shortly. I think nurses do an amazing job and when a nurse is good she can not only help with the patients physical health, but their emotional health as well.

I think you should find a book or something better to do with your time than watch Mediaography and debate on how nobel those women are that are pretending to be nurses.

DLS_PMHNP, MSN, RN, NP · Nov 9, 2009

I think nurses do an amazing job and when a nurse is good she can not only help with the patients physical health, but their emotional health as well.

If our patient ratios weren't so freakin' high, I'll bet many of us would be much more effective in this area. In reality, I barely have time to pee, let alone find time adequate time to actually SIT with my patients and offer some emotional support. .

Unfortunately, many of our patients/visitors/family do NOT look up to us. Many nights I am made to feel the equivalent of a waitress or better yet, a maid at a hotel.

Sorry to be such a 'Debbie Downer' had a rough couple 'o nights at work....

Best,

Diane, RN

imaRN08 · Nov 9, 2009

Unfortunately, many of our patients/visitors/family do NOT look up to us. Many nights I am made to feel the equivalent of a waitress or better yet, a maid at a hotel.

SO TRUE!! I am often made to feel like that, and an idiot too.... nope, i dont know anything- thats why I've gone to college, got my degree, PASSED boards, and have a nursing license. and thats not not just family/visitors, etc. it goes for DR's too

leslie :-D · Nov 9, 2009

We are talking about Media, not exactly the staple of intellectual thinking. You can find nearly every type of vocation and profession portrayed in Mediaography. Look at police officers, doctors, office workers, housewives, and nearly any walk of life you care to think of. Mediaography is not selective about who gets to do decadent things. Therefore, it is not the Media industry singling nursing out as all walks of life are represented.
Additionally, nursing has far bigger problems to worry about than focusing on the media habits of perverts.

please gila, correct me if i'm wrong, but you 'sound' somewhat bothered by the aforementioned suggestion.

we nurses do have very palpable quandaries with our public image.

and yes, the 'naughty nurse' image has been around for decades and decades.

but then again, we're angels...mercurial, ever-loving, tenderly-wiping-the-brow-of-a-pt-kind-of-angel.

but perhaps most notable and omnipresent, is the "doormat" mentality that many see us as, i.e., self-sacrificing martyrs who grovel their days away, feeling overworked, underpaid, underappreciated, etc.

gila, we have all of these images.

and this is precisely why it/we are so problematic.

and that is why these ongoing debates about "the professional nurse" - adn vs bsn - lpn vs rn, etc...

they all revolve around our image, our perception, our vision.

so tatara, to answer your question:

it's really hard to say.

some folks love us.

some folks want to sic their dog on us.

some even want to jump our bones.:omy:

what you will find in nursing and life in general, is when you genuinely like and respect yourself, then life is a whole lot brighter and considerations such as "do you like me?", become far less significant.

no matter the situation, it always starts with you.

leslie

GilaRRT · Nov 9, 2009

please gila, correct me if i'm wrong, but you 'sound' somewhat bothered by the aforementioned suggestion.
we nurses do have very palpable quandaries with our public image.
and yes, the 'naughty nurse' image has been around for decades and decades.
but then again, we're angels...mercurial, ever-loving, tenderly-wiping-the-brow-of-a-pt-kind-of-angel.
but perhaps most notable and omnipresent, is the "doormat" mentality that many see us as, i.e., self-sacrificing martyrs who grovel their days away, feeling overworked, underpaid, underappreciated, etc.
gila, we have all of these images.
and this is precisely why it/we are so problematic.
and that is why these ongoing debates about "the professional nurse" - adn vs bsn - lpn vs rn, etc...
they all revolve around our image, our perception, our vision.
so tatara, to answer your question:
it's really hard to say.
some folks love us.
some folks want to sic their dog on us.
some even want to jump our bones.:omy:
what you will find in nursing and life in general, is when you genuinely like and respect yourself, then life is a whole lot brighter and considerations such as "do you like me?", become far less significant.
no matter the situation, it always starts with you.
leslie

I think you may have misread my statement. My reply specifically focused on the "Mediao" remark. I do not believe 1970's Mediao greatly influenced people to look at nurses as undesirable in the workforce. Mediao is simply what perverts use to get their jollies. No offense to all you perverts by the way. :jester: Mediao is an equal opportunity business and many vocations/professions have been and are represented in this way. What about naughty, sexy police officers and college girls? Media these days even targets house wives, pregnant women, and all varieties of races and cultures.

While I agree that nursing has fought important image battles and most likely will continue to do so, I do not agree that 1970's Media had a significant impact on the image of nursing.

Anisettes, BSN, RN · Nov 9, 2009

I don't know if they look up to us, but judging by the Gallup surveys on public opinion on professional integrity and honesty - nurses consistently are at number one, usually by a margin of over 75-79%.

The only year in the last decade we were knocked out of first place was 2001 (after 9/11) when Firefighters took first prize and we dropped to #2.

Whereas MD's, who are still in the top ten, tend toward the 4th, 5th, or 6th places in any given year.

Scrubby · Nov 9, 2009

Have you ever came across those old censored/Mediaographic videos and posters with main characters dressed or identified as nurses?
During the 70's, media greatly influenced the society to view the image of nurses as less respectable and undesirable work force.
Good thing it is now a thing in the past. People now have high regards to nurses, thanks to the constantly evolving nursing education.
Wait, do people really look up at nurses?
When I think of what they say that history repeats itself, I wonder how could it be to the nursing profession. Is there really a u-turn in this very far-advanced and far developed science? Is media still as powerful as it was before to kick dirt and stain the nobility and dignity of our profession? Or the responsibility is actually just in the midst of us who sometimes forget about the ideals of nursing and its values that are expected of us to emulate?

It's my own personal hypothesis that those who tend to 'look up at nurses' do so for the very reasons why I sometimes despise the profession. I've come across many people who are non nurses who seem to have a very condescending attitude towards us. You know, 'those poor overworked nurses god bless 'em, ministering angels, never complaining and would work for less pay just to help save lives'. Yet the minute we stand up for more pay and better conditions the public turns against us because we are stepping out of this mould we've been stuck in thanks to media stereoptype.

Quite frankly the majority of nurses I know including myself complain frequently about working conditions, did NOT have a calling or if we did work up to the real world within the first year out of nursing school. Nursing needs to move out of this antiquated opinion. The media needs to be depict nurses as professionals who have earned a degree through tertiary education.

Anyway that's my :twocents: