More good portrayals of nursing are coming on the BBC’s Call the Midwife and Netflix’s Virgin River. But Bob Hearts Abishola (CBS) returns with a nurse who remains determined to become a physician because she believes it has a higher status. And the prime-time landscape is still dominated by physician-centric programming, including Grey’s Anatomy, The Good Doctor, and New Amsterdam.
Each episode of Doc McStuffins sends a basic health message, usually in a narrow, physician-centric “diagnosis and treatment” framework. But wait! One of the dolls, Hallie the Hippo, is “Doc’s nurse.” At different points the Hallie character reflects most of the major nursing stereotypes, from low-skilled handmaiden to motherly angel to crusty battle-axe. Her main job often seems to be fetching the Big Book of Boo-Boos for Doc. . The show’s creator has noted that she originally saw the Hallie character as a “fumbling, bumbling mess,”
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.
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…
By guest reviewer Colby Denson, RN Physician’s 2006 book advocates using midwives instead of obstetricians–in part by portraying Labor & Delivery nurses as ignorant servants I am an obstetrics (OB) nurse so I…
On Grey’s Anatomy, surgeons are still gods and nurses are still low-skilled lackeys. But that didn’t stop one surgeon character from delivering a mind-boggling speech declaring that a key rule for successful surgeons is to listen to and respect nurses.
On The Mindy Project, nurses are comic relief for the comic relief The sitcom’s third season does offer a few fleeting images of its nurses as actual health professionals. But mostly, they…
Inside Amy Schumer mocks nurses In 2014 Inside Amy Schumer aired a segment called The Nurses (a parody of The Doctors) that viciously reinforced most major anti-nurse stereotypes, including the ignorant physician…
Paul Krugman says nursing is “menial,” not “cognitive,” in blog post Nobel-winning economist apologizes after nurses give cognitive feedback April 15, 2017 — On February 24, Paul Krugman posted a short item…
Starring Ryan Potter, Scott Adsit, Daniel Henney, T.J. Miller, Jamie Chung, Damon Wayans, Jr., Genesis Rodriguez, James Cromwell, Alan Tudyk, Maya Rudolph Directed by Don Hall and Chris Williams Written by Jordan…
Boys & Girls Club billboards spark debate in Cleveland November 2014 — Since at least September, The Boys & Girls Clubs of Cleveland have been running a billboard ad campaign featuring photos…
Another 24 episodes of misinformation about what nurses do May 2014 – The tenth season of ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy followed the show’s by-now-familiar model, clinically speaking: ; Surgeons gave all important hospital…
Scholar Linda Shields explains nursing on ABC February 17, 2014 — Today Rebecca McLaren published a remarkable article about public understanding of nursing on the website of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s Capricornia…
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