OK so I'm not much of a blogger, nor do I have time to watch a whole lot of TV since I'm at work, but I was thinking with so many hospital dramas on the air right now (and 1 comedy if you count Scrubs) what does everybody think of the way us nurses & our hospitals are portrayed?

Do you think it's a fair representation of our craft?

What would you do differently to make it seem more realistic?

Also, what's everybody's favorite nursing/ER/hospital/doctor, etc. themed show?

Thoughts?

Hi ian121 and welcome to Nursing Voices!

I don't really watch that many hospital/medical shows, haha, I like my Heroes, Prison Break, Smallville, CSI, reality shows, etc.

However, I do watch a little bit of Grey's Anatomy now and then just because it really is a great and very entertaining show. I can't answer the first question because I haven't watched any "nurses" in action on a medical show. However, there are nurses on some shows where they are very kind, friendly and knowledgeable, while other shows just show the "hot" nurse. I believe that the hospitals are portrayed quite accurately, I mean, all hospitals are quite chaotic at times and whatnot.

In another thread, we were talking about how a show centered around nurses would be quite cool. Of course, the show has to be realistic and not just about "nurses chasing doctors" or those common stereotypes in the media.

I chuckled when I read this post, because my first thought was Dixie McCall, the main nurse on Emergency...

Then I realized that most of the people I work with (and a lot of you here) have no idea who, or what, I am talking about...

And I can't really remember too much about how nursing was portrayed by her, by I well remember being 13, and hoping if I had to go to the hospital she would be my nurse!!!

(sorry to take this post downhill do fast!)

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John

DisappearingJohnRN

Oh man - don't get me started about medical shows. I have a passion for hating them - but like a car wreck, I can't look away.

I actually do enjoy scrubs though. And I do like how Carla is portrayed most of the time. She's a tough cookie who fights for her patients and demands respect.

But alas............TV does not reality make.

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Julie

My Blog ER RN

I find that most hospital based dramas seem to ignore the roles of nurses in the hospital. They most often have doctors doing the jobs of nurses. But I was watching Judging Amy today and one of the characters is a nurse. They actually showed him taking it up with a doctor and calling the doctor out on the fact that he spends way more time with the patient than the doctor... although in the end the nurse ended up being wrong and the doctor had the correct diagnosis. Even so, it was probably the most nurse-action I've seen on TV in a while.. especially because I'm used to Grey's Anatomy and never seeing nurse representation.

The first two nurses I remember on TV are Dixie McCall from Emergency! and Hot Lips from M*A*S*H. They were tough, strong women.

Yeah, I am dating myself here too.

I personally believe that the media portrayal of our profession holds us back more than any other single issue.

Although it's not perfect, ER gets major points for trying hard to portray the RN's role accurately.

Sam (plays the charge nurse) does a lot of interesting things like: advocating for patients, helping doctors with decision making--often convincing them her way idea/diagnosis/plan is better, learning to intubate, etc. etc. etc.

It's pretty cool...and considering watching ER is what first got me interested in nursing, it can't be all that bad!

Do you think there are men out there watching House, Grey's Anatomy, or Scrubs thinking, "Wow! Watching the nurses on these shows makes me want to work my ever-loving ass over for the next four years and become a nurse because it looks like a fascinating, exciting, interesting, challenging, intellectual career!"

The nurses on most medical shows are pretty much just furniture: part of the set intended to make the hospital set look "authentic."

*sigh*

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Nurse Sean
http://nursesean.com