▼ Viewpoint By Sandy Jacobs Summers, MSN, MPH, RN, and Harry Jacobs Summers Media ‘Nursing’: Retiring the Handmaiden What viewers see on ER affects our profession.

ould you allots nursing research only $1 and Lockhart’s jarring, sedative- watch a new out of every $200 in the National free defibrillation of a conscious TV hospital Institutes of Health budget. patient makes her look vindic- drama that Though difficulties with nurs- tive. She has no response to ignored the ing’s media image are not new, remarks by a physician to the Wnursing shortage and depicted the current crisis has made the effect that their young patient nurses as peripheral workers re- problem urgent. There have been belongs to the physician, who porting to physicians who can can, in deference to the parents’ fire them? What about a hospital- wishes, forbid her to speak to the based series that suggested its patient about her condition. And principal nurse character could when schoolchildren are asked advance professionally only by whether they would consider attending medical school rather nursing careers, they’re silent— than graduate nursing school? but express joy at the thought of Or how about one that showed becoming physicians. critical nursing tasks being per- Sandy Summers Harry Summers Two years ago, the Center for formed by physicians? Nursing Advocacy began a dia- Welcome to NBC’s ER, a pro- The handmaiden logue with ER’s producers. gram that reaches millions of stereotype remains Despite a few stabs at improve- viewers. To be fair, the show ment, including the recent intro- deserves credit for innovative a media staple. duction of a stronger principal depiction of medical issues and nurse character, nurses remain as competent nurses who counter a few positive portrayals of nurs- peripheral subordinates. Recently, some stereotypes. ing, such as the 2000 Discovery Lockhart has returned to medical Unfortunately, that’s not Health Channel documentary school—even though recent data enough. A recent study found Nurses, and recent columns by suggest that nurses are 50 times that a third of viewers consider Ronnie Polaneczky in the Phila- more likely to attend graduate what they see on ER when mak- delphia Daily News. But the school in nursing. ing health care decisions. Another handmaiden stereotype remains a The Center for Nursing found that youths’ strongest media staple, dominating the Advocacy urges nurses to join impressions of nursing came from inaccurate, physician-centric our campaign to persuade the watching ER; they considered shows on TV and in print. producers of ER to depict nurs- nursing “a girl’s job,” a technical The October 9, 2003, ER ing accurately. Currently, ER career “like shop,” too lowly for episode epitomizes the nursing lacks nursing script advisers. private-school students. image problems. The ED’s chief Inaccurate accounts of nursing The media affect peoples physician fires nurses for aban- also appear widely in other thinking, which in turn influences doning patients to protest hospi- broadcast and print media, and their actions. When career seekers tal plans to cut senior nurses’ those responsible should be held undervalue nursing, they choose hours and benefits then hire accountable. Please contact them other professions. When health cheaper travelers and graduates and their sponsors, and let them facility decision makers under- who’ll work for “minimum know that the perpetuation of value nurses, short-staffing is wage.” Abby Lockhart, the these images damages our pro- encouraged, which increases show’s only principal nurse char- fession (go to www.nursing patient mortality and drives acter, works at triage and defib- advocacy.org and click on nurses from the profession. When rillates a patient—to our “Campaigns”). And talk to your Congress undervalues nursing, it knowledge the first time ER has families and friends. Help every- shown a nurse performing these one understand what nurses do. Sandy Jacobs Summers is the executive director of the Center for Nursing Advocacy, at which common nursing tasks. But Abby Lockhart can’t do it Harry Jacobs Summers is the senior adviser. triage is a comic assembly line, without you. ▼ [email protected] AJN ▼ February 2004 ▼ Vol. 104, No. 2 13