So, I did a rare thing the other night: I watched Grey's Anatomy.
I generally avoid the show for two main reasons:
1. I work in the ICU, so the last thing I want to see is the ICU (or whatever make-believe "unit" it is where they practice) when I'm not there.
2. It portrays doctors as NURSES and nurses get NO credit!
Three examples: Dr. Meredith turning a patient?? Dr. in OR with concrete-block-boy pushing D50 and Insulin?? "Figuring out" to put a foley in the patient?
In my time as a nurse (albeit short -- life-longers please disagree if you have contrary experience), I have never seen a doctor do any of these things.
ONCE in a while, I'll get a rare, rare doctor (resident, mind you) to help me pull up a patient, but usually that's b/c the patient is in respiratory distress and needs a position change to breath, and I have only seen a doctor push a med ONCE, and it was again, a resident, TPA, and during a code (b/c that's hospital policy).
And the foley?? What nurse would allow a patient to even ENTER the ICU (much less bolus them with excessive fluids) without making sure they have a foley? Has anyone ever seen a physician put one in a routine patient? Ridiculous.
So, this is my question...why no love for nurses? We not only DO these things (most without being asked, mind you), we double check them before we do, know when they're needed and usually are the ones asking doctors for orders for them...so, why, when positive media-attention is needed for nurses MOST...are these super-unrealistic-suave-RESIDENTS getting the credit?
I noticed another thing while suffering through the show...when the young boy fell down and had a seizure, what did Dr. Gray immediately do?
She yelled, "NURSE!" Because, even her distorted, fictional, unrealistic character-self knew that the nurse would be the one who knew exactly what to do.
It's about time that Hollywood woke up to the fact that nurses are the award-winning, exciting, realistic, intelligent, juicy people they need to be spotlighting on prime-time TV. Then, maybe we'll start to see a break in this nursing shortage.
Specializes in Cardiac stepdown Unit & Pediatrics.
I have noticed that! First when she was examining a deer (!?!), and I thought they would catch it, but then it happened again recently. They are doing multiple takes for a scene, why wouldn't they fix that? I think it is funny that she of any of them has her own line of scrubs. (Maybe she has a family member who is in health care and wanted cuter scrubs?)
Actually I can tell you that one of her in laws is a cardiologist (I can't remember if he's retired or not but I am 99% sure he used to practice at the floor where I work now before I started working there.) I think that's what makes it a little funnier to me... her father in law is a cardiologist and she messes up on how to put on a stethoscope a few times. hehehe I think she's a great actress but it's still funny.
First let me say that I love Grey's and House, but I know what you mean. There was one Grey's though that the nurses went on strike and that was pretty cool. The place was falling apart.
At my hospital we have been blessed with one of the best docs in the whole world. He will help a patient with a bedpan, help pull them up in bed and back his nurses 100%. We're not technically allowed to take verbal orders from docs at my facility, but short of this man telling me to stab my patient in the eye with a fork, if he asks me to do something I'm right on it. I do realize that docs like this are few and far between and this one is set to retire at the end of the year.
He and I have talked many times about the lack of respect for healthcare workers (both nurses and docs). He has been a doc for a long time and he says that the prestige that docs use to get is long gone from what he can see. I told him that with nursings beginnings being that it was the job of prostitutes and criminals to care for the sick that I think people still get confused and think we're there working out some sort of community service. I understand the concept of customer service, but at some point this has got to stop. If you go get your nails done and you're not happy that's one thing, but if you are seriously ill, I don't care whether or not you're happy while I'm trying to save your life. I actually had a patient a few weeks ago with a horrific GI bleed. Her pressure was like 70/30. I had her on her head, fluids going in through every port she had and just fighting like crazy to get her pressure up. She was still alert and actually wanted me to stop what i was doing and find her tv remote!!!! I was livid. I told her very firmly that she would have to wait. I said "I'm a little busy saving your life right now, we'll find your remote later!"
Well, i have rambled way off topic (I couldn't help myself ;-).
It's time for us to have our own show - showcasing the quirky, fun, exciting and INTELLIGENT profession of nursing. Now is the time to be excited about being a nurse! What other allows you to: travel around the country, set your own schedule, reap tons of benefits, and have 4 days off a week?!
Many, many academic studies on the nursing shortage site the media's poor/inadequate representation of nursing as a CRITICAL part of the overall problem.
And, while Hollywood makes its living on making things that are not exciting, exciting (cough, and residents...in the case of Grey's)...and nurse's portrayal, just like dr's may not be completely accurate...nurses need a show of their own!!!
#1 way to fix the nursing shortage (in my opinion): make the country realize how COOL it is to be a nurse.
Accck -- this is what I've been saying/thinking all along!!! :yeah:We need a show -- and here's the name: Nurse.
And it needs to be about nurses ONLY. Doctors can be woven in here and there -- but put in their proper perspective -- perhaps in the perspectives that WE have of them!
The stars of this show could be so varied, so interesting - the stories could be comedic, dramatic, sad, happy, hip, you name it. Perhaps it could focus on the patient as well -- it could subtely tell the story of what's really going on in healthcare also -- boy, what a bombshell it could be.
I think it should be written BY nurses as well.
Anyone care to join me in developing a screenplay? Don't think I'm not serious. :typing Creative types, please pm me. I'd be willing to do this by committee.
My background is in writing/PR and I've done some freelancing. I'm also a bit on the dramatic side.
I've had a few ideas myself as to whom the story could revolve around.
Accck -- this is what I've been saying/thinking all along!!! :yeah:We need a show -- and here's the name: Nurse.
And it needs to be about nurses ONLY. Doctors can be woven in here and there -- but put in their proper perspective -- perhaps in the perspectives that WE have of them!
The stars of this show could be so varied, so interesting - the stories could be comedic, dramatic, sad, happy, hip, you name it. Perhaps it could focus on the patient as well -- it could subtely tell the story of what's really going on in healthcare also -- boy, what a bombshell it could be.
I think it should be written BY nurses as well.
Anyone care to join me in developing a screenplay? Don't think I'm not serious. :typing Creative types, please pm me. I'd be willing to do this by committee.
My background is in writing/PR and I've done some freelancing. I'm also a bit on the dramatic side.
I've had a few ideas myself as to whom the story could revolve around.
Hi i'd love to help write a screenplay for nurses. I actually am not a nurse yet, im about to go into school in June, but I have tremendous experience in this. I've written over ten, and have filmed only one. I was a Film major, but i got a "calling" you might say about nursing. I always wanted to change lives through my movies, but i decided to save them instead. Let me know any more details if your still interested. -L.J
A LONG time ago there was a sitcom called "Nurses". Does anyone remember that show? It doesnt air anymore. I wasnt a nurse when it was on so I dont remember if it was something worth watching. But the entire show was about nurses while at work in a hospital. It was a comedy. I remember I liked it, but I dont remember if it portrayed nurses accurately.
Can any UK nurses comment about "Angels?" This was a TV show from the late seventies / early eighties.... meant to be fairly accurate with the nurse's role. From what I understand, the producers had the actresses work as nursing assistants for a few weeks to get a feel for things.
Specializes in Medsurg/ICU, Mental Health, Home Health.
a long time ago there was a sitcom called "nurses". does anyone remember that show? it doesnt air anymore. i wasnt a nurse when it was on so i dont remember if it was something worth watching. but the entire show was about nurses while at work in a hospital. it was a comedy. i remember i liked it, but i dont remember if it portrayed nurses accurately.
i think that show ended about fifteen years ago, and i do remember it. it was pretty ridiculous, although i think it portrayed the nurses as strong characters. they were (for the most part) intelligent and independent, and they absolutely called the shots! it seemed a combination icu/medsurg/nursing home, although i think it was meant to be medsurg.
towards the end, it focused on the relationship between dr. hank kaplan (i think that was his name) and...lupe(?) which i think showed that the program wasn't about nurses or medicine.
i know i'd like to see a show called "medsurg" because i think a lot of people don't understand floor nursing. i love er, as i've said, but i remember an earlier season featured a nurse who was floated to the er from medsurg, and she was portrayed as someone in competent, and from what she shared about he floor at county general, it seemed as if medsurg nurses had all of the time in the world and did unimportant tasks.
i also had an idea in nursing school, to have a (fake, of course, because of hippaa) real world-esque show about nursing students called "clinical depression."
Accck -- this is what I've been saying/thinking all along!!! :yeah:We need a show -- and here's the name: Nurse.
And it needs to be about nurses ONLY. Doctors can be woven in here and there -- but put in their proper perspective -- perhaps in the perspectives that WE have of them!
The stars of this show could be so varied, so interesting - the stories could be comedic, dramatic, sad, happy, hip, you name it. Perhaps it could focus on the patient as well -- it could subtely tell the story of what's really going on in healthcare also -- boy, what a bombshell it could be.
I think it should be written BY nurses as well.
Anyone care to join me in developing a screenplay? Don't think I'm not serious. :typing Creative types, please pm me. I'd be willing to do this by committee.
My background is in writing/PR and I've done some freelancing. I'm also a bit on the dramatic side.
I've had a few ideas myself as to whom the story could revolve around.
This is totally along the lines that I was thinking would be a good solution for this type of problem. I think nurses need to be brought into the forefront as the major characters/roles they are and play. This could sooo be just as successful of a drama as all the other professional occupation shows. There can be both accuracy and that tension getting drama involved in each episode. It could be from many perspectives, begining from the nursing student experiences in clinicals (like the post of that student I read on here of the student wringing urine out of her shoes to the post of the emt I read about another student quiting b/c he said they were too cold hearted b/c they weren't showing more emotion over the loss of a pt.); the struggling new grad (getting into the swing of things in that first yr.); the seasoned nurses and the varried ways of coping with different situations (be it dark humor, breaking down and crying maybe even quiting, or turning into a meanie)... I know this is just an over simplification and some of this is just pulled from what I have read here (sorry for not giving complete credit to all the posters btw, but I have been reading alot on here lately lol). If only to take from the most extreme realities, I think there could be the makings of many seasons of rich material. Heck, this doesn't even go into breaking down the different nurse specialties experiences. I mean it really could be endless (in a good way, material wise) if you think about it.
I've done hundreds of catheters but usually when a nurse can't do one. The same with cannulas and NG tubes.
nurses to a great job, an a good nurse is indispensible.
However don't compare yourselves to doctors because you can't understand the pressure put on us to make decisions. In the UK you can become a doctor at aged 23. when we start we are enthusiastic and everyone tells us to "be nice to the nurses 'cos they can help you or finish you". However as we get older, wiser and more battle weary we seem more arrogant and aloof.
Specializes in Medsurg/ICU, Mental Health, Home Health.
however don't compare yourselves to doctors because you can't understand the pressure put on us to make decisions. in the uk you can become a doctor at aged 23. when we start we are enthusiastic and everyone tells us to "be nice to the nurses 'cos they can help you or finish you". however as we get older, wiser and more battle weary we seem more arrogant and aloof.
i didn't realize this thread was about comparing nurses to doctors. perhaps i should reread the posts because i was under the impression that it concerned the inaccurate portrayal of nurses in the media, specifically television programs.
i realize i cannot understand the pressure put on you. i do not want to be in your shoes. however, that is a two-way street. i don't think you understand the pressure we are under, either. i don't want to start an argument, i just do not believe the grass is greener.
and what you've said about what happens as physicians age is, i believe, your impression of what happens, and is a stereotype. i also believe it is true of people in every profession. i want to know, did you add that to excuse the behavior of older doctors?
I've done hundreds of catheters but usually when a nurse can't do one. The same with cannulas and NG tubes.
nurses to a great job, an a good nurse is indispensible.
However don't compare yourselves to doctors because you can't understand the pressure put on us to make decisions. In the UK you can become a doctor at aged 23. when we start we are enthusiastic and everyone tells us to "be nice to the nurses 'cos they can help you or finish you". However as we get older, wiser and more battle weary we seem more arrogant and aloof.
I do agree that sometimes nurses don't appreciate that pressure that the junior doctors work under in the UK, I have worked on both sides of the fence as a ward nurse and as a NP working collaboratively with a team of doctors linked with on consultant. However it works both ways, just as you feel nurses misunderstand the pressure you are under you will not understand the pressure the nurses are under when they bleep because they are concerned with a patient and get no response or a less than satisfactory response.
A good doctor is worth his / her weight in gold, I have worked with and supported some very good docs and I have worked with and cleaned up after some very poor docs.
It works both ways, I have done hundreds and catheters and cannulas and NG's, usually after the FP1 or FP2 have failed, this is what I do, it's my job it helps the patient that I work collaboratively with the other members of the team not compare myself to them.
merellis2009
73 Posts
Actually I can tell you that one of her in laws is a cardiologist (I can't remember if he's retired or not but I am 99% sure he used to practice at the floor where I work now before I started working there.) I think that's what makes it a little funnier to me... her father in law is a cardiologist and she messes up on how to put on a stethoscope a few times. hehehe I think she's a great actress but it's still funny.