In a March 2022 episode, Mrs. Maisel offered a short tribute to the unsung nurses caring for a family member. She praised the nurses for spending time with patients and comforting families, as well as doing work like changing bedpans. But she portrayed nurses as unskilled female angels, not as serious health professionals like the male physicians who, though self-important and uncaring, at least got to use pens.
The July 2020 issue honored those on the “new front line.” One cover featured a midwife. And inside, that nurse advocated for more NHS funding. But nurses are not the “new” front line—they have been saving lives for a long time! Yet the editor’s essay did not group them with physicians, the recognized health experts, but with workers who are not in health care at all.
In April 2020, U.S. nurses appeared in the media to tell the public why Covid-19 must be taken seriously and managed with social distancing measures. An anonymous California nurse did that forcefully in an installment of the Guardian’s “ER Diaries” series, explaining that Covid patients were pushing his hospital to the brink. And on PBS’s NewsHour a Miami nurse manager likewise pleaded for distancing, describing how challenging it is stay safe while providing critical care.
Jimmy Kimmel thanks nurses and others who saved his son A May 2017 episode of ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live featured a long account of how the host’s newborn had survived his first…
New York Post: Nurse at hospital using trash bags as PPE dies of Covid-19 A powerful March 2020 piece in the Post reported that Mount Sinai West nurse manager Kious Kelly had died of Covid-19….
L.A. Times on covid-19’s terrible toll on Wuhan health workers The Times report focuses on the desperate efforts to contain the coronavirus, which has killed many Chinese health workers; some have actually died of overwork….
Dissecting ZDogg MD’s “Always a Nurse” Tribute ZDogg’s musical tribute seems like a genuine effort to honor nurses, and a few bits highlight how tough and valuable nursing is. But most of…
On NPR’s “The Call-In,” nursing is just as hard as low-skilled tending can be! On Weekend Edition Sunday, several direct care nurses addressed the state of nursing. Unfortunately, what came across was mostly the suffering…
Nurses Day tributes are everywhere, but the angel imagery is not so helpful According to the Times of India, the nation’s president has saluted nurses’ “service,” “dedication,” and “nation-building.” Canada’s Globe and…
Chicago Tribune item highlights nurse’s great save but reinforces angel stereotype A piece about a Chicago nurse’s astute and quick action to address a baby’s respiratory distress highlights a key nursing role….
Baltimore Sun reports that retiree became a hospice nurse in his 60s A January 2016 piece by health reporter Meredith Cohn explains that the man became a nurse after his wife died….