Jay Leno slams nurses!

perfectbluebuildings, BSN, RN · Oct 24, 2005

Hey Kurtzmobile, thanks for getting off topic first, can I join you?

I just wanted to "whine" a bit about the Gray's Anatomy last night... I know, I shouldn't watch it if it bugs me but I really love it mostly. But, one thing, did they HAVE to make the one guy's Media videos all about nurses? I know it might sound dumb to whine about. Irritated me. That's all.

angelladyclaire · Oct 24, 2005

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.

The reason I do it this way is that my scope of practice does not include diagnosing my patients. This is why I am a nurse and not a doctor. Your job as a nurse is to assess that mrs. smith's sats are dropping and that her lungs are wet, not to diagnose for the MD that she has CHF. I will often ask the MD for a specific med because it is ultimately his/her call whether to prescribe it, but I'm not going to call a doc and tell him what to diagnose the pt. with! It's not a matter of knowledge or lack thereof on the part of nursing, it's a matter of working within your scope of practice. :twocents:

As far as Leno is concerned, I don't think he did as much damage to our image as we'd like to think. We can't start a massive letter writing campaign and boycott every time someone says something we don't like. Sure, the joke was inappropriate, but you don't see lawyers getting mad everytime someone makes a mean joke about them... when we overreact to stuff like this, I think we are putting forth a negative stereotype of nursing by being whiners. :bluecry1:

Hopalong · Oct 24, 2005

Hello all!!!
This is a little bit off the topic of Jay Leno, However, I saw a few comments made about the program House. I am usually quite laid back when it comes to jokes/comments, feel pretty secure in who I am as a person and a nurse.
Anyways I saw an advertisement for House about a week ago, went like this...Something happened to a pt, like he had an emesis or something like that, Dr House goes, "That is exactly why I created nurses.", then he turned and left the pts room:angryfire I just found myself angered after that commercial. I couldn't help but feel resentment for being portrayed in that light. Anyways, I got over it, but this thread opened up that can of worms again.
Thanks for letting me vent that to you all.

I stopped watching House because the main character is so negative about EVERYTHING, he just has to many problems - continuous sarchasm, drug abuse, no interpersonal accountability, etc. At least we can vote on TV by changing channels.:offtopic:

Marie_LPN, RN, LPN, RN · Oct 24, 2005

Anyway...#1 male fantasy will always include a nurses cap, short white dress and high heels......beauty and brains...caps off to us!

MMMM, i'm not a man, but i would say that fantasy would rank 2nd to the generic threesome.

allnurses Guide · Oct 24, 2005

Hey Kurtzmobile, thanks for getting off topic first, can I join you?
I just wanted to "whine" a bit about the Gray's Anatomy last night... I know, I shouldn't watch it if it bugs me but I really love it mostly. But, one thing, did they HAVE to make the one guy's Media videos all about nurses? I know it might sound dumb to whine about. Irritated me. That's all.

I watched it too . . . . I just had to chuckle. What kind of a doctor lowers herself to "talk trash' to a patient? I thought that negative connotation beat the "nurses as Media" stereotype all to heck.

The other story line about the girl needing her soul back before surgery - that was interesting.

Not too sure about the open heart surgery in an elevator though.

It is merely entertainment - I enjoyed it. I like the music in the background too. I think the voiceover's can get a bit irritating though.

steph

LifeOparty · Oct 24, 2005

What do you expect from Jay Leno? He's in Schwartenegger's pocket, And the Governator is trying to union bust, by making us "highly paid" folks the scapegoats for the health care crisis. VOTE TO RECALL ARNOLD!

allnurses Guide · Oct 24, 2005

What do you expect from Jay Leno? He's in Schwartenegger's pocket, And the Governator is trying to union bust, by making us "highly paid" folks the scapegoats for the health care crisis. VOTE TO RECALL ARNOLD!

Huh? :confused:

:D

steph

teeituptom, BSN, RN · Oct 24, 2005

Just consider the source

He is as much an Idiot as GW Bushie

Hopalong · Oct 24, 2005

Uh Oh, politics... :uhoh3:

Marie_LPN, RN, LPN, RN · Oct 24, 2005

It would be a day w/o orange juice if a politial jab wasn't inserted into at least one post where it had nothing to do with the topic.

allnurses Guide · Oct 24, 2005

It would be a day w/o orange juice if a politial jab wasn't inserted into at least one post where it had nothing to do with the topic.

Whoosh! Slam dunk Marie!!:yelclap:

steph

Gromit · Oct 24, 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!
.

Funny to run across this thread tonight. Just last week, some smart-alec doc (male) -and by the way, so am I (both smartalec and male -I'm a beefy biker dude by secret identity... RN by night. haha) was telling our unit coordinator (who doesn't like him -and makes no bones about it) about how much all the nurses just LOVE him, and that they all wanted to go out with him. Now, I was just coming out of the drug/med room when this happened. I walked up behind him (she saw me, and smirked just as I tapped him on the shoulder) and I said "Not me, pal. Not in your wierdest dreams. " He stood up, and walked out of our unit.

I should note that this is extremely unusual. We have a good working relationship with our docs -many of them are of student or just out of school -status, since we are a teaching hospital. What I really like is that (well, I wake 'em up, since I work night-shift 7p-7a) many times, they will talk WITH you, not TO you, and you can certainly request treatment (and as long as its reasonable, I've never had one refuse me -or if they did, it was with an explanation as to why).

It sucks not being able to just say you know whats wrong, but that IS part of our reality, and the truth is, we may know well whats wrong at the time, but we may also NOT know exactly why, or the best course of treatment. I mean, fair is fair, they do get a heck of a lot more schooling than we do. And of course, theirs is going the be the neck on a line, if the treatment bombs and was erroneous (so long as we keep OUR butts clean, that is). All in all, I'm happy with the relationship we have with OUR docs, at least. Though I've seen and read a few horror stories, none in my current facility, but have witnessed some in my last facility.

-Ride hard, Live hard.