We need a Nursing TV show

Nurses General Nursing

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Boy there are lots of scenarios in our world. Doctors and ER folks have "ER", MD's have "Scrubs"-so I think we should have a TV show. :idea: Maybe a show about life in an acute care med-surg nursing unit, we see everyone for alot-even got a couple of pregnant ladies--and I've only been in med-surg for 7 mo! That would show the public what we all about! Let's discuss.......... Episode 1 is an intro to lets say, 7West...........

Retired R.N. So, what's all this doubletalk about nursing being an autonomous profession? It might sound good on the position papers drafted in the ivory towers, but doesn't play out worth a darn where the great majority of nurses work. Unless, of course, you define the "professional" nurse as one who has managed to get promoted far above the ranks of those doing direct patient care.

I think alot of this double talk is the proberbial pat on the head that's supposed to make us feel better. I've seen the people who provide bedside care (CNAs, LPNs, & RNs) display far more professional behavior than their "superiors."

I'm with you on that. Let's also include the fact that as nurses, we can be threatened with termination of our employment for refusing an assignment, but we face the threat of losing our license to practice if we take an assignment that we can't handle.

Let's also include the fact that violence toward nurses can and does happen, and in most states it's not even a felony...and most nurses are encouraged to not file charges by management.

Jen2: Let's not forget to do an episode about how that person giving your 92-year-old grandmother in a nursing home her Digoxin isn't even a nurse. Let the public really see what is going on with healthcare and it's dangers.

Exactly Elthia and Jen2. There could be the "Nursing channel" about all the numerous issues nurses face. I've only seen one prime time show that dealt with the issue about violence against nurses and that was only one in the 13 years I've been in the profession. For some reason the media seems extemely reluctant to even want to shed any light on very real issues nurses face.

For some reason the media seems extemely reluctant to even want to shed any light on very real issues nurses face.

I wonder why that is? Government? Do they not want the public to know? They didn't mind doing an episode on one of those prime time shows not too long ago about how a women who happened to be a nurse was shooting up drugs at her place of employment. I guess lawyers, business men, who ever never shoot up.

No offense, but in regards to the show episode ideas given in the first few posts. IT woudl never work in any big way. If you want the gerneal public to learn about what nurses actually do, and you want them to actually stay tuned in. So consdieruing the otehr possibilites, i beleive you'd have to amke it a codmedy show. Howveor you could still have very realistic episiodes and events, think 8 rules to dating my teenage daughter, a very funny show, although in gernal nothing is blown out of proportion, it ahs had to deal with the fathers death (cus the actor actually died) and many other serious issue liek that but it still is hialrious. Also woudl you want to go home from a day at work, (in regards to nurses) and coem home and watch a drama/reality show, no, you just lived it in many ways, no, you want to laugh. A comdedy could serve everyones needs.

You could show an episode of the process involved in caring for a palliative patient. You could show how a student nurse in her final year advocated for her patient. The hours she spent at his bedside talking, crying and holding his hand with him about his conditon, updating family and friends (and staying overtime), the countless times she assessed his pain, and how as tough as it was, the shift was good because she made a difference.....

Anyone want to guess what I did today? :rolleyes:

I wonder why that is? Government? Do they not want the public to know? They didn't mind doing an episode on one of those prime time shows not too long ago about how a women who happened to be a nurse was shooting up drugs at her place of employment. I guess lawyers, business men, who ever never shoot up.

I thinks it's more of a belief that the REAL issues involved with nursing are boring and unteresting. It's much easier to do stories on patient abuse and drug addicted nurses, more of a consumer interest, as in "do you want these people taking care of you?"

In reality the issues facing nurses are not only interesting, they should also hold consumer interest, as in "you want these people to stay in the profession to take care of you."

Boy there are lots of scenarios in our world. Doctors and ER folks have "ER", MD's have "Scrubs"-so I think we should have a TV show. :idea: Maybe a show about life in an acute care med-surg nursing unit, we see everyone for alot-even got a couple of pregnant ladies--and I've only been in med-surg for 7 mo! That would show the public what we all about! Let's discuss.......... Episode 1 is an intro to lets say, 7West...........

MANY, MANY years ago NBC did an absolutely trashy show called "Nightengales." All they showed on the promos was nurses disrobing in their locker room all wearing impractical lingerie to work. There was a big cry about this from nurses, that it was encouraging the fantasy/stereotype that nurses were there for the pts. sexual needs. It was BAAD. In order to appease nurses, NBC came up with another lil' gem called 13 East. It was more of a sitcom, but the writing was horrible and nor more realistic than "Nightengales."

I do hope that one day someone writes a realistic show about nurses. It could be done, and it would be great to educate the public what nurses REALLY do.

I still say that it could be done... tastefully.

I am very amased that more true documentaries have not been done on the state of real nursing in America today, but a show based on nursing on a unit with real situations would have possible nursing student canidates running for cover. NO WAY are they going to even apply once they really get exposed to our real world. I am the daughter of a nurse who is a granddaughter of a nurse and my daughter is a nurse. We knew what we were doing sort of, but stepping into this chaos without proper infield training is dangerous to most students. Over half quit before the first year is completed. JMHO.

I would love to see a show that shows how essential nurses are. It would have to be very well written, and have interesting, three-dimensional characters. Maybe that would spark more interest in the profession.

I wonder why that is? Government? Do they not want the public to know? They didn't mind doing an episode on one of those prime time shows not too long ago about how a women who happened to be a nurse was shooting up drugs at her place of employment. I guess lawyers, business men, who ever never shoot up.

ok conspiracery theory. its all the gov'ts fault. all of the media is biased. nursing isnt sexy, being a MD is. the gov't has nothing to to do with the nursing shortage. the cost of medical care is not the fault of the gov't. it is a deeper issue. dont be so short-sighted

here's another fun episode (seems strangely autobiographical, but i digress...)

nursegrimmy arrives to her or to scrub a typical thoracotomy, everything goes great until the end, when the resident inadvertently stabs her with the sharp (and bloody) end of a forcep. scads of paperwork later, the rn relieves another rn for lunch, interviews the pt through a phone interpreter, brings back the pt, prepping, draping, listening to a scrub person complain about her personal life...and after that case, goes to circulate a double lung transplant until 6...a total of 11.5 hours because no relief could be had...dodging deer on the dark and foggy road home.

:rolleyes: that's the problem with reality: it's stranger than fiction.

I would love to see a show that shows how essential nurses are. It would have to be very well written, and have interesting, three-dimensional characters. Maybe that would spark more interest in the profession.

That's what I'm talking about!!! We deal with such extremes of the emotional spectrum and the stories on the show would be amazing. I think there is alot of quirky, amusing things that we have to work with-there's where your comedy could come from. On this board alone, there's enough material for an entire season.

That's what I'm talking about!!! We deal with such extremes of the emotional spectrum and the stories on the show would be amazing. I think there is alot of quirky, amusing things that we have to work with-there's where your comedy could come from. On this board alone, there's enough material for an entire season.

I'm a writer (by hobby) and I've thought about drafting a series bible and pilot for this type of show...more for myself than anything else. I would make it more of a character drama than anything.

I've run the plotline for the show by others, and I've been told my ideas are very good.

I must admit, I'm not much of a T.V. watcher...so much of it is so bad! There needs to be smarter TV shows on the air.

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