I Am Eromosele: The Nursing Profession

It is a common fact that nurses are not given the respect they deserve for the high level of knowledge they demonstrate to patients (Hoeve, Jansen & Roodbol, 2013). The purpose of this paper is to show how the negative portrayals of nurses in the media can result in a distorted image from the public. The components of this paper talk about the negative image of the nurse due to the lack of consistency in the media that the public is viewing, as well as the shortened staff and the public’s poor judgement on the profession.

This essay focuses on the impact of historical development of nursing on contemporary representations of the nursing profession. It examines the professional identity of nursing and further discusses the contribution of modern nursing, social, cultural and political factors that influences the professional identity of a nurse. The essay also looks into the professional regulations and the role of the nurse’s and midwifery Council (NMC) in the protection of the public. Finally, this essay will discuss nursing education, the media, stereotype, and their impacts on nurses as well as demonstrate my understanding as a student nurse to challenge the professional identity of nurses.

Media has an immense effect on societal views, and cultural norms. It is not surprising then, that media influences the public view of the nursing profession (McHugh, 2012). Negative portrayal of nursing in media is detrimental, these stereotypes undermine the profession which leads to less resources and a negative image of nursing among nursing students (Anonymous, 2010). For these reasons the image of nursing in media is something that needs to be explored, to understand how the nursing image in media affects both public and personal perception of the profession (Anonymous, 2010). Nurse Jackie is a controversial television show about an Emergency room nurse named Jackie (Hudis & Zisk, 2009). In this series Jackie is middle aged, married, mother of two, and while she is depicted as being loving with her family, she is having an affair with the pharmacist for her department. As a nurse Jackie is caring, and compassionate towards her patients, while also exhibiting unethical and inappropriate behaviours both within and outside of her working environment (Sorrell, 2009). Jackie is a complex character who exhibits both positive and negative nursing behaviours.

When people think about nurses, many ideas come to mind. They think of the hideous old starched, white uniforms, a doctor’s handmaiden, the sexy or naughty nurse, or a torturer. The media and society have manipulated the identity and role of nurses. None of these ideas truly portray nurses and what they do. Nurses are with the patients more than the doctors. People do not realize how little they will encounter the doctor in the hospital until they are actually in the hospital. People quickly realize how important nurses are. Because nurses interact with their patients constantly, nurses are the ones who know the patients best.

Image. The media diverts the attention of the young adults who may be interested in nursing by focusing on the challenges that nurse’s face rather than the aspects of the career that are rewarding.

Nursing as a profession is often portrayed by the media in demeaning ways. “Nurses have often been unfairly and unrealistically portrayed as “battle axes” or psychologically compromised. And that’s if they are written into the script at all.” (Berkowitz, 2014). “They are often portrayed as physician helpers, not the highly skilled independent clinicians that we know they are.” (Berkowitz, 2014).

The media is known to have immense influences on the public perception from body images to what kind of car people should buy. And the nursing image is not immune to these influences. What Hollywood transmits to the public about nurse’s works much like an advertising industry. Television has represented nurses in varying degrees and not all of them are flattering. We have been portrayed as

Blais (2016) noted that “as nursing education evolved and nurses began to understand more about what constituted the practice of nursing, the boundaries expanded. During the 1970s and 1980s nurses began to seek more autonomy in the practice of nursing, particularly with regards to physicians and hospital administration” (p.315). Many Americans spend most of their free time watching television. Therefore, the best way to change the negative portrayals of nurses would be to use these same sources of media

My own nursing philosophy arises from my Knowledge as a nurse, personal beliefs and experiences, I have gathered throughout the years from my interactions with diverse patient population and other healthcare professionals, while working in different setting as a nursing in the health care. This also addresses nurse 's ethics, goal and values as it relates to my nursing practice. My Nursing Philosophy is based on five components: nursing, Person, environment, holistic care and health.

I once heard someone say, “Find something you love to do and you’ll always be successful.” If you want to be in a field where you are continually learning, nursing would be the top pick. This paper will reflect the journey I have taken from Registered Nurse (RN) to Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) with the incorporation of my learning objectives from my clinical course.

The media has an impact and creates a baseline of professional identities, along with the stereotypes that follow. Today, there are many television channels that portray a negative image of nurses, making assumptions and make a mockery of the profession. An example of this is the medical drama ‘House’. There are multiple episodes that reflect the drama's portrayal of nurses such as their view on nursing bedside care, and relying on the physicians to do all of the thinking, have competence and be the hero of the story. The nurses are seen as handmaidens with incompetence when it comes to knowledge and ability and cannot perform the simple tasks or detect an emergency situation.

I chose to commit myself to the nursing profession because I believe the nurse is the comma in every health care sentence. A comma may seem insignificant, or even invisible in a properly structured sentence, but its absence can be detrimental to the whole. The nurse links the art to the science of care, connecting two independent clauses creating one fluid idea. Nurses help connect the patient and the doctor; they translate the jargon to the civilian’s understanding. In a constantly changing environment, they elicit an essential pause, assisting each crucial transition. A carefully placed comma doesn’t just manage a checklist of ideas; it inadvertently leads them forward in motion. Nurses are ever present in the healthcare experience, beginning with

Nursing has evolved over the years and it took many years for a nurse to be recognized as a profession. Since 1991, nursing is considered to be the most trusted profession in the United States. According to the American Nurses of Association (2005), "For the past 1 years, the public has voted nurses as the most honest and ethical profession in America." Not only has nursing become a trusted career, but the values and the way nurses care for their patients has helped people see them as family.

The nursing profession is one of many portrayed by the media. In its simplest form media is how information is shared and stored. Media covers a wide range of services, advertisements, brochures, pamphlets, TV shows, films, novels, and magazines, digital, electronic, it goes on and on. Media is more accessible these days; the internet and wireless technology makes it easy for many people to access information on a wide scale. As information is shared by the media the public creates an image. This image may be right or it can be wrong, it all depends on the media’s accuracy. Nurses have been depicted in many forms over the years. These depictions can influence the public’s opinion of the profession as well as the likelihood that the profession will be considered for future students. Nurses need to take a more active role in how the profession is portrayed by the media, they need to work together to portray the profession in its best light in order to recruit and retain nurses.

Nursing is a profession that blends the rich traditions of the past with the ever changing realities of today's health care industry. Nursing is not simply an assortment of special skills and the nurse is not simply a person proficient in performing these specific tasks. Nursing is a profession. I believe this statement to be true because of several factors. The Title 19 Code for Nurses is titled "Standards for Professional Nursing Practice". The status of nursing as a profession reflects the values that society places on the work of nurses and how central nursing is to the good of society. "By being a professional we imply that the person is conscientious in actions, knowledgeable in the subject and