J&J co nursing promo- WTF???

Nurses General Nursing

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I just saw Johnson and Johnson's latest TV ad promoting careers in nursing. They showed a supposed real nurse talking about her job. She said:

"I can't have a bad day!"

HUH????

What planet did they find these nurses on?

It is appalling to me how J&J is so grossly misrepresenting nurses, nursing and what is really going on.

People who see these ads are going to believe them. How will we ever get the public to see our situation, and to care?:eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: !!!

Well, I am very discouraged by the totally urealistic DisneyLnad way that nursing is FALSELY portrayed in these ads. Just goes to show how different people perceptions are. I took the "I can't have a bad bay" thing to imply that nursing conditions are so wonderful, that being a nurses is just all pleaseantness and happiness all day.

What I would really love to see are ads for nursing UNIONS!

Here is a ling k to the contact page for J&J if anyone wants to write to them about the ads:

http://www.jnj.com/contact_us/contact_us_form.htm?catg=Product+Information

And here is a copy of what I wrote to them:

I am a Registerd Nurse with ten years experience in nursing.

Everytime I see one of your televised ads promotinng nursing as a career, I am extemely dismayed.

Your ads portray nursing in a totally unrealistic manner.

I am beside myself every time a woman on your most recent ad, claiming to be a nurse declares "I can't have a bad day.!" She is implying that nursing is a pleasant way to earn a living. Is your company aware of the reasons for the nursing shortage?

The number one reason is TERRIBLE working conditions for nurses.

Do you know that ONE nurse in a nursing home typically is the ONLY nurse for 30-75 patients?

In a hospital on an acute floor, ONE nurse can have from 5-15 patients to care for. Working conditions for nursing are impossible. Not to mention the reality of abuse of nurses by physicians.Many studies show that there actually is no shortage of licensed nurses. There is, however, a shortage of nursing willing to work in today's health-care environment. The way you portray nurses and nursing in your TV promos is so unrealistic as to be deceptive.

Nurses all over THe U.S. are miserable. We are fighting for tolerable working conditions. The ideal, but totally false way you portray nurses and nursing hurts nurses, patients and will surely set up a great many eager, young potential nursing students for the shock and disappointment of their lives when they found out about the REAL WORLD of nursing.

Here are some links to some web sites that I hope you will explore in order to educate yourselves regarding the current nursing crisis:

http://www.allnurses.com (check out the forums at allnurses to read what nurses are REALLY saying).

http://www.gift-of-life.com/nurse.htm

http://www.nurseadvocate.org/nurseabuse.html

These are just three examples. The internet, and nursing journals are filled with miserable, angry, fed-up nurses desperate for change.

Sincerely,

Christina C., RN

Warts and all, as Karen said, I still enjoy nursing too. But I do feel that until retention issues are AGGRESSIVELY addressed, bringing in new nurses to the profession would be like putting brand new tires on a rusted out car...

I think it's that cloying, syrupy music in the commercial that gets to me...you could get a mouthful of cavities listening to it.

Specializes in Vents, Telemetry, Home Care, Home infusion.

Want to do something about retention?????

1. Check out Nurse Reinvestment act thread re retention activites in this law.

https://allnurses.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=29551

2. Write your Senators and Congress persons to get it FUNDED.

3. Lobby your employers to seek monies/grant programs from this law to promote RETENTION.

Way to go NurseKaren, I agree that nursing has some warts but the point of the commercial was to portray nurses in a positive light. I understand that people are upset, but if everyone channels their frusturation, maybe we can change some things! Call me an optimist...

Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.
Originally posted by l.rae

my bigest complaint is that "YET AGAIN" we are looking at recruitment instead of retention........why put more water into the tank BEFORE plugging the hole?...grrrrr!...nursing will NEVER be "fixed" until retention issues are addressed.......LR

Great analogy. perfectly illustrates the stupidity of it all, doesn't it.

Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.
Originally posted by EmeraldNYL

Way to go NurseKaren, I agree that nursing has some warts but the point of the commercial was to portray nurses in a positive light. I understand that people are upset, but if everyone channels their frusturation, maybe we can change some things! Call me an optimist...

I don't believe it was to portray nurses in a positive light really but to make the job look just so wonderful, so altruistic, they would feel "called" to it. But if you need such syrup to feel called to such a difficult profession, you probably do not belong there at all. You need to enter w/eyes WIDE open.

well, l did send an e-mail. Suggested they take a look at this website for a reality check...l hope they do.

SmilingBlueEyes, I disagree with you, I thought the ad was a step in the right direction, even though it wasn't perfect. There are people in my family who are nurses so I know first hand the problems that nursing faces. I also worked as a nursing assistant for three years to make sure that this was what I wanted to do. The J&J ad wasn't meant to be social commentary into the world of nursing- it was simply a commercial, an advertisement. When you see commercials for say, McDonalds', does that commercial say that their food will cause obesity and heart disease?? No, it shows smiling happy people chowing down and socializing. I think you need to take the J&J ad with a grain of salt because it is only an advertisement after all. The purpose of the ad was to generate interest in the nursing profession, so maybe people will see the ad and think, "Hmm, nursing, let me check into that some more." I highly doubt someone will see the commercial and say "Wow, nursing is the best profession in the whole wide world, I have to become a nurse now!" Just out of curiousity, if you had to design an ad for nursing, what would it say? Would it talk people out of even researching the nursing profession more and deciding on their own if it's for them, or would it portray nurses who are happy with their chosen career?

The commercial itself doesn't annoy me, but the motives behind it do. These are probably the only 104 nurses in America that don't work in hellish conditions. Plus, how much were they paid to say that crap???

Kristy

Hmm, maybe we should find out where those 104 nurses work that they love their jobs so much and go work there! :D

They were paid $1,567.84 after taxes for a quote and a picture! :p

Hey at least someone is happy out there. Positive outlook at least! Kudos!

Wow, that's not bad pay to say a few nice words on camera... just out of curiousity, where did you find how much they were paid?

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