The media today provides the public and nursing profession a view into perceptions of the past and current status of the profession of nursing. While media includes printed works, movies and television, this presentation will focus on an analysis of contemporary television productions set in various eras of nursing history. Three television series recently broadcast on public television in the United States included: Crimson Field (BBC, 2018b), Call the Midwife (BBC, 2018a), and Mercy Street (PBS, 2016). Three impactful areas on nursing will be examined for each series: culture, gender and the lasting changes in health care and other systems.
Mercy Street focuses on nursing in a military hospital in Virginia during the Civil War. Nurses include individuals, self-trained through the personal experience of nursing family members to one nurse, formally trained by Florence Nightingale. Gender, race and social class affect nurses’ position and work during this time. Infectious disease also plays a large role in the military health system.
Jumping fifty years forward, is the series, Crimson Field where a British military field hospital in France during World War I provided a backdrop for stories involving nurses and Red Cross volunteers. The nurses’ treatment, especially of the ‘Matron-in-Chief’, of the volunteers reminds us of the poor treatment nurses still inflict on one another. The war wounds seen during this period were unlike any seen before and affected the healthcare team unlike any previous war.
Another 40 years later is the setting for the series, Call the Midwife. This series focuses on a nursing organization providing midwife services in a low-income neighborhood in England spanning from the mid 1950's to early 1960's. As many novice nurses experience, expectations of a nursing career are not always aligned with reality. However, the relationships with our patients and peers often overshadow the harsh realities we are dealt. Interesting in this video series, we see the circular nature of healthcare.
Similarities and differences between previous and current casualty care are reviewed. Multiple healthcare advances resulted from the battlefield and are highlighted within the discussion. Findings related to gender, race and social class are contrasted with themes evidenced in contemporary television shows such as Code Black and Chicago Med. While similarities remain, some trends to more gender and ethnic equality can be seen. Themes identified by Ashley (1976) in Hospital, Paternalism and the Role of the Nurse continue to be seen and there remain many challenges for the public portrayal of the role of nursing. Are stereotypes being perpetuated?
Contemporary media has a significant impact for future nurses, nurses currently active in the profession, and the general public. Illuminating the public’s perceptions of nursing professionals will empower nurses to influence future nursing portrayals in the media. Respect for the nursing profession will grow and future nurses will take their equal standing with other healthcare professionals in the transformation of healthcare.
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