No Longer a Fan

[nynursey_]

I found myself so fond of Katie Duke in her NYER days. But her shameless self promotion to win Dr. Oz's nurse contest has really just turned me off. She and Kati Kleber have suddenly become the face of nursing, and yet, I feel a disconnect, as if they don't truly represent what nursing is like at all.

In light of The View controversy, I just wish nursing DID have an honest, accurate face.

Just my two cents!

[nynursey_]

It seems that, if anyone is even remotely close to nursing in any way, that they would be well aware of Katie Kleber's book. I saw her tweet about being on Dr. Oz and was....well, disappointed. I can only conclude two things because of this: either she wants to get more books sold or Dr. Oz is trying to appear more legitimate. I am more inclined to believe the former - I like Katie's writing and in what I believe is the burgeoning era of "nurse as entrepreneur," this seems to fit the bill. Do I like what this is pointing to? I don't really know yet. The effect on what people understand about nursing has yet to be seen - I can only hope it will be for the positive. The more the public knows what nurses truly do and how staffing ratios and serious safety concerns (r/t pts and for nurses as well) affect delivery of standard care the more they will be likely to vote in a way that makes for progressive legislation (maybe). But should we do that through "nurse as celebrity?" Still, don't know how that will play out.

But, for now, they're just selling books/getting ratings. I'm hoping for the best.

I agree. And it isn't just the Katie/Kati's. It's expanding. NurseNacole. NurseMendoza. All names who I appreciated for their contribution to the nursing world, whether it be a quippy video about how to handle a difficult patient, or an easy way to interpret ABGs ... but it seems so transparent now. Three of the internet's "biggest" nurse names are appearing on the Dr. Oz show. Supposedly to bring light to the field. I'm interested to see what they'll discuss, but in my deeply pessimistic mind, I can't help but think they'll bypass the difficult ratios, patient on nurse violence, burnout, etc. Which makes me sad.

It just supports that even though you may start from humble beginnings, it's easy to get distracted by the glitz and glam. What happened to keeping it real, like Flo? I know we're beyond her Notes on Nursing days, but we surely can't be so far off that nurses can't speak on real life issues anymore.