Nurse TV

Has anyone been watching this - Nurse TV? I started watching it at week 3 and I quite enjoy it - even though the reception to designated channel is poor at times . From what I have read some topics in the 13 week programs will include Diabetes Education, The Art of Birthing, Remote Nursing, Neonatal Nursing,

Intensive Care, Palliative Care, Triage Emergency, Midwifery, Ethics. So far the episodes I have viewed have covered Intensive care, remote and respiratory nursing, Nurse Practitioner and Palliative Care. This weeks episode covers a no lift policy interview with a nurse and triage emergency filmed at Box Hill Hospital.

It would be good if these shows that give a real insight into the profession of nursing could be given more support in order to be aired on channels accessible throughout all areas or produced more often rather than the constant portrayal the general public views through television programs.

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Nurse TV

By Clare Kermond

November 13, 2003

Nicholas Bird is bubbling over with enthusiasm. The Melbourne filmmaker's mission is to show the world all the wonderful and varied things that nurses do; if he could, he'd probably pop around to everyone's house to talk about it in person.

Bird is the brains and the heart behind a new series screening on Channel 31, Nurse TV. He drifted from nursing into film more than a decade ago but has long wanted to find a project that would show the world what it really means to be a nurse. The profession, says Bird, is steeped in myth. People think of nurses as one down from doctors, as militant unionists or as sweet Florence Nightingales whose main job is to pat the patients' hands.

His goal in Nurse TV was to debunk the myths and give people a clearer picture of the variety of work done by nurses. The 13-part series covers a huge range of subjects, with three segments in each episode.

In the first few episodes we see nurses in intensive care units, working in palliative care, nurses in remote bush communities, nurse educators, and the nurse adviser to Channel Seven's All Saints.

The series is a mix of documentary and talk show, with Bird interviewing most of the nurses on location at their work. He says he wanted to make "a Burke's Backyard on nursing".

"Nurses are great talkers, great storytellers, I didn't want to give an opinion as a filmmaker, I wanted to go and interview them and let them speak. I just cut out the ums," he says.

The series was made on the smell of an oily rag, with Bird funding most of the work himself through his media production company. Hospitals waived their usual filming charges and the nurses gave their time free. Channel 31 usually charges a fee to cover its broadcasting costs, but Bird says this was waived after a sponsor signed on.

After working on the series for more than a year, Bird says he was devastated when all of the major networks rejected the show, but is grateful for the support shown by Channel 31.

"I just want as many people as is technically possible to pick up 31 and watch this show, to enjoy the amazing stories that the nurses told. It's been incredible."

Nurse TV screens on Wednesdays at 6.30pm on Channel 31.

http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/11/12/1068329623401.html