Jay Leno slams nurses!

DusktilDawn · Oct 15, 2005

I *just* watched Jay Leno make a really rude comment about nurses- it went something to the effect of... " you know nurses are the most overworked profession in America... especially in those adult movies" GRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!
Nurses are not Bimbos, Mr. Leno!!!!!! :angryfire :angryfire :angryfire :nurse: :flamesonb :flamesonb

I've always found Leno irritating. Now I can add idiotic to that list.

ZASHAGALKA, RN · Oct 15, 2005

He's just repeating a common cultural stereotype.

What do you expect when that's the only media image of nurses you see? Have you ever seen ER? The real work is done by doctors - nurses just stand in the wings and wait for when one of the stars need a girlfriend.

That doesn't excuse his ignorant joke. It just adds an 'it figures' sticky in my mind by the comment.

But think about this. How many times in how many ways do you 'hide in the wings'. You don't say what you know, you hint until the doctor gets what you are saying. You don't call the doc and say 'Mrs. Smith is going into CHF and needs some lasix and O2' - you say 'Mrs. Smith's sats are dropping and her lungs sound wet' etc. etc. until the doc orders the things you knew she needed when you made the call. Then, the perception of both the doc and the public is that - the doc came in to save the day. Even if you tell the family that actions were taken to save Mrs. Smith, it's normally couched as 'I called the doc and got some orders'. Wow, her doc really saved the day!

The point is that - how do you expect the image of nursing to change when WE buy into that image - playing hide and seek games about who we are and what we are worth. It's a form of cultural obsolescence that we have helped to foster.

How on earth would Jay Leno know any better? We certainly aren't out there organized and telling the lay public any different.

Go read Nursing Against the Odds by Suzanne Gordon. Alas and sadly, those type of comments are all too endemic against nursing. And it won't change.

Until WE change it. (And Jay Leno's comment is just a symptom, not the disease.)

~faith,

Timothy.

grace90, LPN, LVN · Oct 15, 2005

You don't say what you know, you hint until the doctor gets what you are saying. You don't call the doc and say 'Mrs. Smith is going into CHF and needs some lasix and O2' - you say 'Mrs. Smith's sats are dropping and her lungs sound wet' etc. etc. until the doc orders the things you knew she needed when you made the call. ~faith,
Timothy.

Actually, in my 16 short mo in practice, I've been known to get in more than 1 doc's face to get something I know a patient needs.

Rachel

hollykate · Oct 15, 2005

OH NO, he didn't.

I still remember watching with a lot of pride when Letterman introduced his Cardiac Team after his Surgery, and included nurses from the day AND night shift, as well as his surgeon...

Marie_LPN, RN, LPN, RN · Oct 15, 2005

Go read Nursing Against the Odds by Suzanne Gordon. Alas and sadly, those type of comments are all too endemic against nursing. And it won’t change.

This IS an excellent book so far, i'm half-way through it.

And Jay Leno's getting a p.o.'d-gram. Actually heard him make the remark.

SmilingBluEyes · Oct 15, 2005

that is an excellent book.read it in one evening waiting for care for my son in the ED one night---it was that good. But it also angered me. And you are right, Leno is not the disease, but unless we let such media figures KNOW how we feel about such off-the-cuff and stupid remarks, they will continue. Grass roots efforts, not just major, grandiose gestures at changing our image, are needed, too.

llg, PhD, RN · Oct 15, 2005

I wasn't that offended by it. It was a part of his monolog ... a context in which he pokes fun at everything. "The Tonight Show" monolog has been a national tradition for over 30 years .... first with Steve Allen, then Jack Parr, then Johnny Carson, now Jay Leno. The monolog pokes fun at national institutions, public figures, etc. -- everybody gets a little teasing equally -- especially the high and mighty.

If we nurses can't take a little gentle ribbing from such a respected and traditional source, then we have a problem. We need to handle such things with grace, dignity, and good humor. Everybody knew it was a joke: there is no chance that anyone in his right mind took it seriously. We need to not take it too seriously, either.

One sign of self-assurance is the ability to make fun of yourself now and then. If we lose that, we will truly make ourselves look silly.

We need to pick our battles carefully.

llg

Diary/Dairy, RN · Oct 15, 2005

I just wanted to add that "House" is the same way as ER - There are NEVER any nurses on that show that actually seem to be doing anything important. My husband will not let me watch the show because I am so vocal about protesting that there are no nurses on that show. I mean, The doctors on house's team draw their own blood, run all their own labs, do most of the surgeries.......

I like House, but the fact that there are no nurses on the show drives me UP THE WALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

:angryfire :angryfire

menolly_33 · Oct 15, 2005

I wasn't that offended by it. It was a part of his monolog ... a context in which he pokes fun at everything. "The Tonight Show" monolog has been a national tradition for over 30 years .... first with Steve Allen, then Jack Parr, then Johnny Carson, now Jay Leno. The monolog pokes fun at national institutions, public figures, etc. -- everybody gets a little teasing equally -- especially the high and mighty.
If we nurses can't take a little gentle ribbing from such a respected and traditional source, then we have a problem. We need to handle such things with grace, dignity, and good humor. Everybody knew it was a joke: there is no chance that anyone in his right mind took it seriously. We need to not take it too seriously, either.
One sign of self-assurance is the ability to make fun of yourself now and then. If we lose that, we will truly make ourselves look silly.
We need to pick our battles carefully.
llg

I couln't have said it better. For heaven sakes the man is a comedian, he makes fun of everyone. I guess it's ok to laugh until it's your turn. :rolleyes:

ZASHAGALKA, RN · Oct 15, 2005

I couln't have said it better. For heaven sakes the man is a comedian, he makes fun of everyone. I guess it's ok to laugh until it's your turn.

I don't think the point is that nurses can't take a ribbing.

The point is that, in ribbing nurses, Leno plays on an inaccurate stereotype.

It's not the joke itself, but the insight into what that joke says about the media representation of nurses.

Y'all are all low cut dressed bimbos (even though I'm a nurse, I'm a guy - so I guess that means I get a free pass, there. -- oh wait! I must be gay, I forgot.)

~faith,

Timothy.

Mirai Kangofu · Oct 15, 2005

Has the Nurses Advocate website picked up on this yet?