Headline »

A physician enters the room. A nurse walks behind him and drapes a stethoscope around his neck. Then she silently exits….

This scene from ER, one of the most popular healthcare television series in history, exemplifies a stereotype that Sandy Summers, RN, MSN, MPH, wants people to learn to identify. “These tiny little details really do make a difference,” she explained. “Not a single word was said in this little 6-second clip, but it just hammered home the handmaiden stereotype.”

Summers is an expert on nursing stereotypes, from handmaiden to angel to naughty nurse. She and her husband, Harry Jacobs Summers, promote more accurate, balanced, and frequent media portrayals of nurses through their non-profit organization The Truth About Nursing. The organization, founded in 2001, provides a vast array of research documenting the effect of media on viewers’ beliefs about healthcare, insightful commentaries on fictional portrayals of nurses, and analyses of press coverage about nurses.

In 2008, the Summers were invited to write a book about nursing portrayals in the media. Saving Lives: Why the Media’s Portrayal of Nursing Puts Us All at Risk was the result. Named 2009 Book of the Year by the American Journal of Nursing, Saving Lives not only dissects nursing stereotypes but provides concrete and specific tools for societal transformation.

“The most common comment we hear about the book is, this has completely changed the way I view the media, or I’ll never look at television the same way again,” said Summers. “That’s really important. That tells me we got through to this person and we raised their awareness.”

However, Summers is under no illusion regarding the immensity of her mission. “It’s going to take a long time to change the way most people think about nursing,” she said. “Almost everything we see about nursing drives home the negative stereotypes. It’s embedded in our culture and our media.”

According to Summers, the change must start with nurses themselves. “A lot of nurses don’t understand that the media has a huge influence over the way people think,” she said. Nurses also need to develop a backbone, Summers added. “Too few of them are willing to stand up to physicians who write prescriptions that are inaccurate or downright dangerous for patients,” she said. “It’s our job to advocate for patients and make sure they’re treated like we would treat our own family members.”

Chapter 4 of Saving Lives was written specifically to address this issue. The chapter, mischievously titled “Yes, Doctor! No, Doctor!” explores media portrayals of nurses as handmaidens–good for pouring physicians’ coffee or fetching their medical instruments. Portrayals like these make it difficult for viewers to grasp that nurses are autonomous health-care professionals who are not “hired, fired, or supervised” by physicians.

While the book is an illuminating read for any nurse, it’s just as accessible and significant for non-nurses. The last two chapters provide a detailed outline of what can be done to improve public understanding of nursing. The chapter sections are addressed directly to members of the media, private sector health care executives, policy makers and others, tailoring the main message to individual readers.

Summers herself has a soft spot for Chapter 5. “If somebody were to only read one chapter in our book, ‘The Naughtiest Nurse’ is the most compelling and the most relentless,” she said. The chapter offers an endless array of examples of the naughty nurse stereotype, which appears across the world in television shows, music videos, sexually oriented products, and news media. Naughty nurses in the media send a message that nurses are there to meet the sexual needs of male patients and physicians.

As Summers explains, this “social contempt” turns potential male nurses away from the profession, encourages workplace sexual abuse, and makes it difficult for nursing to acquire necessary funding. She’s delighted with the way that Chapter 5 presents this critical issue. “Harry wrote most of it, so I can say that!” she said jokingly. “By the time you get done, you’re nearly breathless. There’s no way you could read that chapter and not believe that we have a problem with the naughty nurse that actually matters.”

What’s next on the agenda for the Summers and for The Truth About Nursing? “Well, we do have another book idea that we’re bouncing around,” Summers admitted. She’s not giving away too much as the project hasn’t gotten underway, but she hinted that the book may explore the language surrounding healthcare and medicine.

“Words mean something, and when you use the wrong word in relationship to nursing, it damages public understanding of nursing, and affects nurses’ ability to fight for the health of patients,” she explained. For example, the word doctor is often used interchangeably with physician. But, said Summers, when people use the word doctor like this, it sends the message that only physicians can get a doctorate level education in healthcare. This usage ignores the qualifications of nurses and other professionals with doctorate level degrees who are operating on the cutting edge of healthcare, improving outcomes and saving lives.

Whether it’s through writing books, speaking at public events or providing online resources, Summers plans to continue working to change public perceptions about nursing. “I don’t think nursing’s image will have transformed to the place we want it to be until long after we’re dead and gone,” she said. “But we have to start, or nothing will ever happen.”

Invest In Your Future By Earning An Advanced Nursing Degree

Life can be complicated, but earning your advanced nursing degree doesn’t have to be. Find an accredited nursing school near you, or prepare yourself for advancement through earning an advanced nursing degree online. Simply click on the degree that interests you in the left side margin to bring up schools that offer that degree, and then click the link for the programs that interest you. Fill out and complete the brief information request form in order to receive additional information about requirements, tuition, financial aid, and start dates directly from nursing schools offering online nursing programs that best match your interests: Online Nursing Programs

Popularity: 5% [?]