Stereotypes In Nursing Research

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.

Professional nursing practice has been developing for several centuries. Nursing as a profession can be traced back to the early Christian era. Since then the perception of nursing practice has changed significantly. “Nursing is caring, commitment, and dedication to meeting the functional health needs of all people” (Craven &

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.

Professional identity has become a necessary concept to employees who are working in a health and human-serviced environment because it comprehends the image and perceptions of individuals that has based on the way she/ he performs a job or operates within their career field (Brott & Myers, 1999; Smith & Robinson, 1995). Therefore, in nursing occupation, professional identity is considered to be the most important concept that to prove their patients their skills and knowledge in their field. This essay further focuses on the precise definition of professional identity as well as nursing identity, the key industry and quality agencies and association that set standards, guidelines, and codes of practice in nursing and how industry and professional agencies monitor the quality of care and services in professional nursing.

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.

According to Hoeve, Jansen, & Roodbol (2014), to improve the nursing public image and to obtain a stronger position in healthcare organizations, nurses need to increase their visibility. But individually, nurses needs to recognize the value in what we do, believed in ourselves and our colleagues, and dress the part. Each nurse needs to explore how his /her actions or inactions affect the nursing image. . We need to recognize that the images and behavior outside the workplace on social media such as YouTube, FaceBook or Instagram can affect our workplace image. How we portray ourselves in public to our patient can dispel any misconceptions the public may have of nurses and the profession by reeducating the community, educating nursing students on how to project a positive image of nursing, and helping students to understand the meaning of professionalism. Hoeve, Jansen, & Roodol (2014) also suggested that nurses should work harder to communicate both their professionalism and their contribution to the healthcare system to the public. Kalisch and Kalisch (1983) state that

Nursing is an esteemed profession that has developed over many years. This paper will explore the factors that influenced the development of the nursing profession, the roles and responsibilities of nurses, the many different career opportunities available to nurses as well as the origins of my passion to pursue nursing.

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

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)

American Nurses Association defines nursing as “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 population”( Potter,P.,& Perry, A. 2005,1-5). Thus making nursing dynamic and ever changing. However, when nursing

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.

Like any scientific discipline, the nursing profession has evolved over time. Nurses, once regarded as housemaids and lower class citizens, now hold positions of authority and stature in our modern society. These changes in the profession are attributed to the many nurse theorists who devoted their lives to the improvement of patient care. Through their theoretical advancements, the public perception of nursing has gone from dismissive to reverential. Today, our culture considers the nursing profession to be one of the most rewarding and respected career paths an individual can pursue. Through a review of one such patient theorist, Dorothea Orem, one can witness this change in the perception of the nursing profession. As a first semester student in a professional nursing course of study, Orem has already influenced my personal nursing philosophy.

Nursing as a discipline has set forward an explicit desire to serve the public and it is the service and commitment to the individual and overall wellbeing of our society that drives and directs the study and practice of nurses, educators and nurse scholars (Smith & Parker, 2010).

The healthcare system comprises of various disciplines, one of which is the discipline of nursing. I feel that compared to other disciplines like medicine, nursing has minimal recognition of being a discipline on its own. According to (IAIN W. GRAHAM), nurses are always needed by the society, however, the society lacks in acknowledging the social status of nurses. Hence, being nurses, we have to understand and uphold the importance of our nursing. I am writing this letter to you as I would like to share with you on why it is important to study the discipline of nursing. I hope after reading this letter you would be enlightened and be motivated to spread what you have gained from reading this letter to other nurses.