Image Of Nursing : A Look At An Historical Image

Many things influence one’s personal perceptions of the great profession called nursing. According to the American Nurses Association, nursing is defined as “protection, promotion, and abilities, prevention of illness and injury,

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.

Stereotypes affect all of us, more so when we are not aware of them. Recognizing stereotypes helps us to move past them. Choose one stereotype about nursing. In at least three paragraphs, describe the stereotype, show an example of the stereotype from literature, television, a movie, etc., and then describe how the stereotype could positively and negatively affect the image of nursing. Cite your sources in APA format. Save your work as a Word document and submit as an attachment in Blackboard.

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.

There have been many influential publications, agencies, and people in the field of nursing research. Write 1–3 sentences in each cell of the table below to describe the importance, goal, or influence of each item.

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

Nursing has changed over time from the instruments that are used, the process that procedures are done, and many medical advances. Nursing back in the Florence Nightingale days did not have specialties like we do today either. Nursing has a whole has progressed significantly since then. I believe that the history of nursing is important because we as nurses need to know where we come from and how this profession became what it is today. Without many prominent nurses such as Florence Nightingale, Mary Breckinridge, Agatha Cobourg Hodgins, and Adda Eldredge nursing would not be what it is today. The American Association for the History of Nursing is an association that nurses can join if they have an interest in the history of

Throughout time the world’s image on Nursing has evolved rapidly. Nurses work in an extremely stressful environment and must carry out their duties in a professional manner to ensure proper procedures are followed throughout their routines. They also have a considerable amount of responsibility that comes with their career. For those reasons nurses must present themselves in a professional and structured manner at all times. The Image of Nursing describes how people in and out of the profession see nurses. Nurses must protect and continuously improve their image by fully applying themselves to their profession every day. Nurses complete rigorous course studies to obtain the ability to manage themselves and lead others towards a common

Throughout history, society has considered women to be the natural caregivers of children, family, and community. Women were naturally thought of as nurses because the act was said to be an extension of their role in the home. They were called in to homes to help deliver babies or as wet nurses to breastfeed. In the 1800’s, women began taking care of soldiers. It was then that Florence Nightingale cared for soldiers in the Crimean War. During this time she revolutionized the role by setting standards of cleanliness and reducing infection. The legacy of nursing continues to be enriched by those who continue to follow the example of nursing pioneers. They refuse to be bound by others’ views

Over the decades, the field of nursing has been facing difficulty with receiving acceptance as a respectable occupation. This is because there were often certain prejudices associated with the profession (which made it hard to attract good candidates). However, in the last several years, nurses have become an integral part of any health care team. To fully understand how this took place requires examining the historical trends. This will be accomplished by focusing on: self-regulatory issues and the way social perceptions impacted career decisions. Once this takes place, is when these elements will show the challenges effecting the development and practices of the discipline. (Kitson, 1996, pp. 1647 1651)

Many people believe that Nursing started with Florence Nightingale, however nursing itself dates back to the beginnings of motherhood when nurses were traditionally female. In fact, nursing and medicine have been closely intertwined throughout the ages. The history of nursing has its origins in the care of infants and children, so all mothers were in fact nurses. Gradually an evolution started developing into dedicated caregivers who practiced the art. In fact, nursing has been called the oldest of arts and the youngest of professions.

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.