When one imagines a female nurse in America, one may think of a smiling woman in pink scrubs helping a new mother care for her baby, a comforting hand to hold in a time of need, or even a soft voice counting, “One, two, three...” before administering an injection. Nursing is a profession that is dominated by women at ninety-two percent (US Department of Labor) and is accurately characterized by its commitment to the care for individuals and the promotion of healthy living. According to the American Nursing Association’s Code of Ethics, “The nurse, in all professional relationships, practices with compassion and respect for the inherent dignity, worth, and uniqueness of every individual, unrestricted by considerations of social or economic status, personal attributes, or the nature of health problems.” Because of these professional and altruistic values, it is no surprise that the profession of nursing has received the highest ranking in Gallup’s annual Honesty and Ethics Poll for the eleventh year. Eighty-one percent of Americans claimed that nurses have “high” or “very high” ethical standards (Gallup). Clearly, the American public thinks quite highly of nurses, however, when is turns on the television, these well-respected individuals are portrayed on popular medical dramas as disposable sexual objects and as subordinate helpers. This unrealistic depiction of nurses is a reflection of the misogyny in American culture that presents itself through entertainment such as ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy and Fox’s House.
The writers of medical dramas are creative in that they find ways to make scrubs “sexy,” however, this attribute of the female nurse ultimately leads to their mistreatment by the shows’ men. The physicians in the show...
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Angelou once said, “The people may forget the nurses name, but they will never forget how that nurse made them feel.” Nursing is a profession. Unfortunately, nursing does not always get the credit it deserves because of these stereotypes. Nursing is not a gay profession for males. Due to the shortage of nurses, our society needs more nurses now than never. Nurses make a difference in almost every person’s lives just not in hospital rooms but also in schools and clinics. Nursing in not easy job but somebody has to do it. There has to those individuals who must take on this challenge and be the difference in someone’s life. People could not care if someone considers them a failure for being a nurse and not a doctor. Most doctors could not do their job effectively without the help and assistance of nurses. The money is there for those who think nurses does not get paid that much. Healthcare is one of the biggest factors in our world, and for our world to progress further, an increase in employment for nursing is necessary. These stereotypes should not and will not stop the field of nursing from
It is written into our ethical guidelines, it is featured in our entry to practice standards and it is perpetuated through imagery of the caring nurse (Appendix 1). And there is no denying compassionate care is good for patient outcomes (CNA, 2010). Yet, the continual depiction of nurse as synonymous with compassion and selflessness, can make it difficult for nurses to come forward or take time off when they are experiencing compassion fatigue. In a CNA (2010) study, nurses expressed ethical distress at coming forward about experiencing compassion fatigue because it conflicted with their ideas of ideal nursing practice (CNA, 2010). Moreover, nurses felt a professional obligation to provide care for those in need despite feeling apathetic or have limited empathy (CNA,
Morkes, Andrew Yehling, Carol Walsh, Nora and Walsh, Laura. Ferguson’s Careers in Focus: Nursing. Second Ed. Chicago: Ferguson Pub., 2003. Print
On January 25, 2006 at the Tennvoa Medical Center, the day started off as any other day for Nurse Nacey Nicity and the rest of the staff. The day usually started off with all of the staff sitting quietly to themselves as one particular nurse expresses her feelings towards everyone and their work ethics. One staff member, Nurse Nacey Nicity, was a new graduate student that was still fairly new to the Labor and Delivery Unit and nursing came very quickly as if it was second nature. Nurse Nacey Nicity began her career orienting with that one particular nurse whom was also the most experienced nurse on the unit; Nurse Jody McMean. Nurse Jody McMean started work as a Labor and Delivery nurse at Tennova for over thirty years
During the time when all nurses were undervalued, Gordon followed and observed three registered nurses every day at Boston’s Beth Israel Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, while on their daily routines for almost two years. Each of the nurses have different jobs, which cause them to have different roles. The three nurses Gordon evaluated were: Nancy Rumplik, an oncology nurse; Ellen Kitchen, a home care nurse practitioner; and Jeannie Chaisson, a clinical nurse specialist. All three nurses together have more than 50 years of work experiences in the medical field. Gordon gives us an assortment of cases the nurse worked on. She shows how each nurse has special abilities when it comes to helping their patients.
Crosta, P. (2013, July 19). "What is nursing? What does a nurse do?." Medical News Today. Retrieved from
I chose to go into nursing because I had taken a sports medicine class in high school I enjoyed, and I thought I would be guaranteed a job graduating that had something to do with medicine. I can remember being so excited to learn how about illnesses and medications, and all the difference procedures done in the hospital. At the time I thought a nurse’s job was to do what the physicians said, and I expected set guidelines that would tell me what I was and wasn’t allowed to do. I had no idea that I was entering onto a career path involving so much complexity, and that the skills I had dreamed of learning were such a small part of nursing in comparison to the emotional, decision making, and critical thinking skills that a nursing career requires. Ethics in nursing was not something that had ever crossed my mind when I chose to take this path, however now ethics is something that I think about every day I am practicing, whether in clinical or theory courses. Ethical theories often come from the idea that because we are human we have the obligation to care about other’s best interests (Kozier et al., 2010), however in nursing ethical practice is not just a personal choice but a professional responsibility.
One of the most poignant statements that I have heard during my tenure in nursing school is that “Nurses are often the first person that an infant sees at birth and the last person that a patient sees upon death.” Nurses have contact with patients recurrently along this continuum of life, now more than ever. This is due to the world’s aging population and the correlating factor of higher patient acuity (Larson, 2013). This frequent and close contact with nurses has fostered a sense of trustworthiness in the minds of U.S. citizens. This is evidenced by a recent Gallup Poll which listed nurses as the most honest and ethical professionals in America (www.galluppoll.com, 2015). Nurses have the challenging task of providing this trust-worthy,
Zerwekh, J., Claborn, J. (2006). Nursing today: Transitions and trends (pp. 343-346). St. Louis, Missouri:
Presented issues such as lack of nursing opportunities for nursing graduates, lack of respect for the nursing profession and nurses being viewed as a threat by doctors continues to be of an existence today. As a nurse, I feel that it is of high importance to highlight these presented issues from the film not only because they were the most outstanding to me but because the nursing profession needs more
Davis, A. J. (1997). Ethical dilemmas and nursing practice (4th ed.). Stamford, Conn.: Appleton & Lange.
Burkhardt, M. A., & Nathaniel, A. K. (2014). Ethics & issues in contemporary nursing (4th ed.). Stephan Helbra.
Nursing is a field of work that so many people find themselves fascinated with, as well as harboring a degree of respect. We look to nurses with a sense of admiration and reverence, and look to them for security in times of need. What makes nursing such a desirable and enthralling field to other people? Despite the fact that doctors are normally under the spotlight, nursing is of profound importance in American culture. Nurses provide comfort and security, as well as a knowledge of medical aid. The field of nursing has the benefit of coming from a field that is ancient, yet timeless and has blossomed throughout history to make a large impact on our culture today.
Full Movie, n.d). In the modern healthcare system, the changes in the ethics and professionalism as provided by the nursing code of ethics is relevant. Therefore, some individuals within the system may take time to accept the transformations and some may be unaware that change exists. Eventually, they end up noticing the change later as well as what is required of them as stated in the code of ethics. In one example, the code of ethics within the nursing professionalism necessitates that the nurse has to be willing to overlook certain aspects (social, career, and familial relationships) to aid the patient in full recovery. There are numerous alterations in the nursing code, and what is taught in medical school; therefore, the previously educated nurses should be aware of the modifications. A nurse known as Sarah had worked within the healthcare system for more than fifty years. Within her tenure, she experienced numerous changes in the code of ethics and what is taught within the system (Saver, 2006). By the time she could adjust the trends in alterations, it was late; hence, difficult for her to keep up with
The American Nurses Association created guidelines for the profession including, a set clear rules to be followed by individuals within the profession, Code of Ethics for Nurses. Written in 1893, by Lystra Gretter, and adopted by the ANA in 1926, The Code of Ethics for Nurses details the role metaethics, normative ethics, and applied ethics have within the field (ANA, 2015). Moral obligation for an individual differs within professions than it does within an individual’s personal life, so the code of ethics was written to establish rules within the profession. The moral obligation to provide quality care include the fundamental principles of respect for persons, integrity, autonomy, advocacy, accountability, beneficence, and non-maleficence. The document itself contains nine provisions with subtext, all of which cannot be addressed within this paper however, core principals related to the ethical responsibilities nurses have will be