Hi Everyone! Showtime Series is currently creating a show about a NYC nurse whose personal life is “precarious, unpredictable and demanding in ways that she is surprisingly not always prepared for.” This will be an interesting show to follow. We could create proactive letters to suggests that the writers could consult a real nurse to promote a more accurate and professional image.
Check these websites for more info:
http://www.nursingadvocacy.org/news/2008/sep/fall_tv.html
I have added to the ANA template letter and am posting it for reference. Please join me in writing a letter to the show's creators! Thank you.
Regards,
Judy Chang, Chair
California Nursing Students' Association Ad Hoc Image of Nursing Committee
San Francisco State University
Roger Greenblatt
President, Entertainment
Showtime Networks, Inc.
1633 Broadway
New York, NY 10019
Dear Mr. Greenblatt:
On behalf of the California Nursing Students’ Association, I urge you to depict nursing in a positive light in your upcoming dark comedy starring Edie Falco as a New York City nurse debuted to air in the fall of 2008.
I appreciate the choice in launching a comedy based on a nurse. However, I’m sure you’ll agree that nurses deserve positive, respectful and accurate portrayals in the media and on television. As you know, far too often negative images of nurses occur in many media forums. Nurses’ lives should not be simply dramatized and stereotyped for ratings by promoting a “precarious, unpredictable and demanding [personal life] in ways that she is surprisingly not always prepared for.” An accurate portrayal of nursing is both respectful and paramount.
Each and everyday, nurses take on more responsibilities in the delivery of nursing care. Nurses are intelligent, highly educated, professional men and women who are dedicated to saving lives and helping people heal from serious illness. Many nurses have Master’s and Doctorate degrees and work with physician colleagues as the primary health care provider for adults, the elderly and children. My concern is that negative nurse portrayals seriously damage nurse-recruitment efforts and may well exacerbate a shortage that is fast reaching crisis proportions in our nation. Negative images reinforce sexist and inaccurate stereotypical images of nurses, and these ingrained images do play a role in shaping the values, impressions and ultimately career choices of young people – the very people who are so desperately needed in the profession.
As the Chair of the California Nursing Student Association Ad Hoc Image of Nursing Committee, I urge Showtime to look at doing a documentary on health care institutions across the nation that are experiencing a crisis in nurse staffing; safe staffing that poses a real threat to the nation’s health care system and the public’s health; patient safety that effects quality health care and a host of other issues critical in the nursing community.
I suggest Showtime’s writers employ a few methods to help ensure the show accurately portrays nurses and the profession itself. Actual registered nurses are valuable consultants who can provide their professional expertise and clinical experience to ensure the nurses’ responsibilities and professionalism are truthfully depicted to avoid public misconceptions. The Center for Nursing Advocacy at http://www.nursingadvocacy.org/news/news.html is a great resource to learn about the proper ways to portray nurses in the media.
Please do not hestitate to contact me for any assistance you may need. Thank you for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
Judy Chang, Chair
California Nursing Students' Association Ad Hoc Image of Nursing Committee San Francisco State University
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