Study Document
Nursing Contemporary Nursing Stereotypes on Television Author Essay
Pages:2 (737 words)
Sources:1+
Subject:Social Issues
Topic:Stereotyping
Document Type:Essay
Document:#88086720
Nursing
Contemporary Nursing Stereotypes on Television
Author Carol J. Huston writes in a boldly honest narrative that the nursing industry must seek to be populated with "smart… bright…highly motivated" nurses who "want to make a difference" in the lives of the patients they tend to (Huston, 2013, p. 319). Nurses must "…stop acting like victims" and instead use their best instincts and have a positive influence on public policy (Huston, 319). In order to do that nurses must be able to break out of the stereotypes that seem to follow them, especially on television and in the movies, Huston explains.
The stereotypes on television that Huston presents to the reader include: a) a nurse is an "Angel of mercy"; b) nurses have love interests in doctors; c) nurses are "sex bombshells" and "naughty"; d) a nurse is a "handmaiden to the physician"; e) nurses can be "battle-axes"; and f) male nurses are either gay, effeminate or "sexually predatory" (Huston, 329).
Romantic relationships between nurses and doctors "…abound on contemporary television shows," Huston continues (330). On ER, Scrubs, House, and on Gray's Anatomy, the stereotypes of romance actually come closer to "sexual liaisons" according to Huston. In the past forty years, Huston asserts, nurses have been portrayed as "sex objects" on television and in the film industry. The movies in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s were "…filled with images of nurses garbed in miniskirts, sleazy, low-cut tops, and high heels," as they spend considerable time "fulfilling sexual fantasies and virtually no time providing care to patients" (Huston, 330).
Some readers might conclude that Huston is exaggerating the bad image that television has created about nurses, but she provides numerous examples of these negative stereotypes to bolster her position. For example, a 10-week television series in the UK in 2004 depicted nurses as "…sexed-up independent women" who were smokers, drinkers, and after finishing at work (and engaging in a "steam clinch in the linen cupboard") they would enjoy a "…wild night of clubbing" (Huston, 331). This kind of television production is contemptible and it reeks of a media company pandering to the darkest of human impulses and presenting a false image of nurses in the process.
Reclaiming the title of…
Sample Source(s) Used
Works Cited
Huston, Carol J. (2013). Professional Issues in Nursing: Challenges and Opportunities.
Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins.
The Truth about Nursing. (2010). What can you do to shape a better image of nursing? Retrieved
April 16, 2013, from http://www.thetruthaboutnursing.org.
Related Documents
Study Document
Managed Care
Nursing Tasks, Methods, And Expectations State of the Industry The Art and Science of Nursing Relative Pay Scales Male Nursing Roles Sex Stereotypes The Influence of the Nationalized Healthcare Debate Proposed Methods toward Recruiting Nurses Joint Corporate Campaigns Steps to Recruiting Men Wages issues Recent employment trends in the nursing field have demonstrated a disconcerting drop in the number of employed and employable nurses. In what has been traditionally a female dominated filed, the exit rate of both men and women,
Study Document
Pangman and Seguire Journal Review "Sexuality and
Pangman and Seguire Journal Review "Sexuality and the Chronically Ill Older Adult: A Social Justice Issue" "Sexuality and the Chronically Ill Older Adult: A Social Justice Issue" is an article by Verna C. Pangman and Marilyn Seguire, first published in 2000 in Volume 18 of the journal Sexuality and Disability. In their article, Pangman and Seguire provide a penetrating look at an issue all too often obscured by either false assumptions of unimportance,
Study Document
Media Analysis Report on Aging
Disengagement Theory Disengagement theory was one of the earliest theories written on aging and it was formulated by Cumming and Henry in 1961. This theory states that the society should find avenues for older people to actively disengage from authority to give way for younger people to take over. Through this way, the society creates a smooth transition for the younger generation to take over the active roles while the elders
Study Document
Tube As a Key ICT
"Oh, brave new world indeed," she concludes (11). Improving Online Education Programs The growth of "distance education" offerings, also called online education, has been dramatic over the past few years. "Online education has experienced tremendous growth" as colleges and universities -- and private companies that offer training services -- convert "face-to-face classes to online courses" (Revere, et al., 2011, p. 114). Writing in the Quarterly Review of Distance Education, the authors
Study Document
Feminism, Pygmalion and the Stepford Wives
1960, the world of women (especially American women) was limited in very many aspects, from the workplace to family life. American women who were employed in 1960 were largely restricted to jobs such as being nurses, teachers or secretaries. Women were in general not welcome in professional fields. Friedan's work, The Feminine Mystique, captured and detailed the lives of quite a number of housewives from across the United States
Study Document
Recession and African-Americans in the
Edgar Hoover, makes public its continuing investigation into the activities of black nationalist organizations, singling out the Black Panther Party in particular, Hoover viewing the group as a national security threat. January 05, 1970 Blacks Move Out of Inner Cities: The Bureau of Census statistics show as the quality of life in poverty-stricken urban communities worsens, a continuous stream of middle-class blacks escape to higher-income neighborhoods and suburbs. February 13, 1970 First Black