Why do nurses seem to have a bad reputation?

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I don't know if it's just me, but it seems like nurses get a bad wrap sometimes. For example, on Grey's Anatomy the nurses are looked down on completely, and one of the nurses even gave syphilis to a doctor. Also, the nurses on the show are generally grumpy and in one episode they go on strike and refuse to work.

I also feel like nurses have a reputation for sleeping around. My dad who is 85 and is a retired general surgeon says that back when he practiced, nurses were known to sleep around a lot. He said it's because nurses are around life and death so much that they get careless in the sexual promiscuity sense. I just think that all of these stereotypes portrayed through TV are really rude and not realistic.

I just started nursing school a little over a month ago and this has been bothering me. Does this bother anybody else? I just was curious to see different opinions on the subject.

I must defy all odds.

I am young,ugly,fat,and a whore without pay.

Doctors do not do anything for me.

I like the young,just out of high school, Cna hunks.

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I must defy all odds.

I am young,ugly,fat,and a whore without pay.

Doctors do not do anything for me.

I like the young,just out of high school, Cna hunks.

I like the old crusty environmental that come when I call and mop up my mess and grunt at me.

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There were a couple of shows that were pure documentaries but I don't know the name of them. They were Boston or NYC hospitals and they followed mostly nurses, and a few residents in the ER. There was this one really pretty nurse with a thick NY accent that got asked out by a patient, and she was very polite but less than thrilled as she didn't date patients, but she wasn't disrespectful on camera. The nurses had a tireless attitude, a dash of black humor and loved their jobs. It made me want to work with them.

Did anyone else watch this?

Okay, this was one of them, but there was a show in Boston, too. Before Dr. Oz started quacking:

Watch NY Med TV Show - ABC.com

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There were a couple of shows that were pure documentaries but I don't know the name of them. They were Boston or NYC hospitals and they followed mostly nurses, and a few residents in the ER. There was this one really pretty nurse with a thick NY accent that got asked out by a patient, and she was very polite but less than thrilled as she didn't date patients, but she wasn't disrespectful on camera. The nurses had a tireless attitude, a dash of black humor and loved their jobs. It made me want to work with them.

Did anyone else watch this?

Okay, this was one of them, but there was a show in Boston, too. Before Dr. Oz started quacking:

Watch NY Med TV Show - ABC.com

You're thinking of NY MED. The staff on that show all think they are now as famous as Kim Kardashian. It did show the work that nurses actually do, which I liked.

And don't get me started on Dr. Oz on that show, seriously!

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Specializes in ICU/PACU.

I usually get a compliment or an "oh you're a nurse" (in a good way, with a smile) when I say I'm a nurse. People tend to like it. They think we are all caring and sweet ha. It has helped me get out of tickets and I believe other things in life. People tend to think we are honest and trustworthy.

The only time I have experienced negativity is in the hospital.

When i was a travel nurse, people would love to hear about what that was and always thought it was so cool.

The majority of us are really lucky. I can get a job anywhere and that feels good!

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Specializes in Inpatient Oncology/Public Health.

Greys has been a bit better lately. On one of the recent episodes, the docs in training are told, "You will think you know more than the nurses. You do NOT know more than the nurses."

If you look at the history of nurses, you can see where some of these fun ideas came from.

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Greys has been a bit better lately. On one of the recent episodes, the docs in training are told, "You will think you know more than the nurses. You do NOT know more than the nurses."

If you look at the history of nurses, you can see where some of these fun ideas came from.

I remember that episode came out of no where! I was like "greys anatomy.. Showing respect to nurses?! Am I dreaming?!!"

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You're thinking of NY MED. The staff on that show all think they are now as famous as Kim Kardashian. It did show the work that nurses actually do, which I liked.

And don't get me started on Dr. Oz on that show, seriously!

*Disappointed*

Yea, not an Oz fan, but I did like the nurses.

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Should be easy since he only glances sideways with his hooded eyes.

(I read all my mom's harlequin's when I was a kid. "Hooded eyes" never failed to make me laugh.)

The other day I read that a passage in a book describing a woman as shy, head tilted down as she covertly looked up at him through her lashes. Say what?!

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The other day I read that a passage in a book describing a woman as shy, head tilted down as she covertly looked up at him through her lashes. Say what?!

Yeah, I've got a permanent crick in my neck from so much down-tilted head holding while covertly looking up through my lashes. I recommend Ben-Gay for fellow sufferers! :)

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"She looked him fully in the face with a challenging, assertive stare." doesn't get the juices flowing, I guess.

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Specializes in Med-Surg; Infectious Diseases; Research.

Don't worry yourself about the same people who portray residents as geniuses. Everyone is stereotyped on tv :-)

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