The World According to Garp

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I had never really watched this movie then the other day it was on Encore and I thought well I've never seen it so why not.

I was floored when his mother told the story about how she became pregnant. If you haven't seen it you would be shocked.

I mean its comedy and I guess it was pretty funny but when you are a nurse and you hear this story it is really kind of degrading.

Nurse Jenny Fields is a wartime nurse taking care of a Pt with a piece of shrapnel in his head, he is unresponsive and uncommunicative except for a single word Garp. His last name, he is Technical Sgt. Garp. He has one other peculiarity... a constant erection.

Nurse Jenny who would like to have a child without the hinderance of a man in her life thinks the situation through very thoroughly and when Garp becomes Arp as the Pts only word she fears her time is growing short so she sneakes into the infirmary and climbs aboard so to speak, during the interlude he speaks one other word...Good he died within three days and she was pregnant. She later gives birth to a son whom she names T.S. Garp

When I was watching it I thought of a thread a while back about how nurses are portrayed in movies and television

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Yeah, I remember when that movie came out. I heard more jokes than ever about 'nurses meeting every need." :rolleyes:

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As soon as I saw the title to this thread I KNEW you were gonna bring this up!!!....My dumb question about the thing is, I've seem brain injury patients with this "eternal erection" but I not sure that they would be able to ejaculate!?!?!.....Can anybody shed some light on this??

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Specializes in Med-Surg.

I think in the book the patient is constantly masturbating, not having a constant erection. That would be priaprism and not a good thing.

I've worked with a lot of head injured and never seen constant erections.

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Specializes in ORTHOPAEDICS-CERTIFIED SINCE 89.

What sticks in my mind is the most excellent way she defended herself from sexual perverts. A number 11 blade on a knife handle fit the need quite well.

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PRIAPISM

Painful, persistent, and abnormal erection, unaccompanied by sexual desire or excitation.

The mechanisms of priapism are poorly understood but probably involve complex vascular and neurologic abnormalities. Pelvic vascular thrombosis is most often incriminated. Priapism may be secondary to prolonged sexual activity; leukemia, sickle cell disease or trait, or other blood dyscrasias; pelvic hematoma or neoplasm; cerebrospinal disease (eg, syphilis, tumor); or genital infection and inflammation (eg, prostatitis, urethritis, cystitis), especially if complicated by a bladder calculus. Several drugs may produce priapism (eg, trazodone; chlorpromazine; methaqualone; prazosin; tolbutamide; certain antihypertensives, anticoagulants, and corticosteroids). Injection therapy for erectile dysfunction is another cause

Prognosis and Treatment

Prognosis for recovery of sexual function is poor unless treatment is prompt and effective. In general, treatment is difficult and sometimes unsuccessful. Estrogens are ineffective. Some cases (especially those due to therapy for erectile dysfunction) respond to vasoactive drugs administered directly into the corpora. Neurogenic priapism may be alleviated by continuous caudal or spinal anesthesia. The corpora may be decompressed by introduction of large-bore needles (12- or 16-gauge) with evacuation and irrigation, although tumescence usually recurs. Creation of a fistula between the glans and corpus cavernosum with a biopsy needle has been successful. Semipermanent diversion by means of a saphenous vein shunt from one or both corpora or a cavernosa-spongiosum shunt may result in detumescence of sufficient duration to permit reestablishment of pelvic circulation. Underlying causes should be treated, such as medical therapy for sickle cell disease, which may be effective in resolving priapism.

doesn't really answer the question of ejaculation but from this it seems unlikely to me, but you may read it another way.

Oh well there it is for your inspection.

http://www.merck.com/mrkshared/mmanual/section17/chapter219/219b.jsp

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Specializes in HIV/AIDS, Dementia, Psych.

Yeah, we aren't portrayed well. We just got iO cable and there is a banner below every channel telling you what's on the channel. This banner comes up even if you don't subscribe to the channel. Anyhow, as I'm flipping through I see something below with the word 'nurse' so I pause. It's an adult channel 'Naughty Nurses'...:rolleyes:

Since then, I have seen the banner read 'Nympho Nurses', The Nurse's Diary' and 'Inner City Nurses'. It's so ridiculous! No, we're not professionals...we have all kinds of time to run around 'satisfying' all our male pts. sheesh!

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I remember this movie. One thing, it was made almost 20 years ago in the early 80s, so I think nursing has come along way.

As far as the Mediaos, there seem to be two professions constantly linked with sexual or sexist stereotypes, nurses and cops. How many male strippers have you seen or heard of with a cop costume? Or even one of the village people? LOL

I don't know if that will ever change, I prefer to just laugh the stuff off and not let it get to me. Since I will be a male nurse, I know I'll be subject plenty of stereotypes myself.

Tim

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When I saw the movie over 20 years ago, I loved it, I still love it, I have it on tape. I just loved the comedy of the movie and never took the part of Jennie seriously.

Guess I am just like tmiller, I know people will always use nurses and cops to role play. Afterall, we see all kinds of "naked" bodies

and cops are tough guys.

Sorry, but this was not as offensive to me as other portrayals of nurses.

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