Society Image of Nursing

1667 Words7 Pages
Bria M. Favors
Light-Davidson
English Comp
November 8, 2012

Society Image of Nursing: Is It Positive or Negative? What thoughts do the average American think when they hear, the profession of nursing? What type of images flash threw their minds? Some Americans agree that"nursing is the protection, promotion, and optimization of health and abilities, prevention of illness and injury, alleviation of suffering through the diagnosis and treatment of human response, and advocacy in the care of individuals, families, communities, and populations. (ANA 7)” This formal definition of nursing comes from the Scope and Standards of Practice nursing book written by the American Nurses Association. While on the other hand, some Americans disagree with this formal definition and perceive the image of nursing in a negative way.But why is there such a separation is these opinions? Such separations in opinions arise from society’s negative portrayal of the image of nursing.
The media is one powerful instrument that has an enormous impact on why some Americans view the profession of nursing negatively as portrayed on movies, television shows and the Internet. In the movie, Something's Gotta Give, the character played by Jack Nicholson has a heart attack and returns home to be cared for by a nurse who is middle-aged, ugly, obese and bursting out of her uniform. In the movies Catch-22 and The World According to Garp, nurses are portrayed as sexual beings in the profession to meet and marry a rich doctor. These types of images ruin nurse-patient relationships. If an elderly patients watch movies like these they will be more reluctant to going to the hospital or feeling comfortable with allowing the nurse to properly care for them during their time of recovery.
In the TV shows Grey's Anatomy, Scrubs,House and ER,physicians are portrayed in scenes as the ones that provide

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