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News on Nurses in the Media -- January - June 2003

 

National Post's Blatchford: Bring back the handmaidens

June 26, 2003 -- Christie Blatchford's column "Militant angels of mercy" in the June 7 issue of Canada's National Post, mounts a bizarre attack on the modern nursing profession, as she yearns for the good old days when nurses were "kind" and "loved, if not always respected." more...

 

Tribune examines Chicago nursing school's quest for male students

June 25, 2003 -- Today's Chicago Tribune includes a lengthy article by Nathan Bierma about attempts by the West Suburban College of Nursing to recruit more men as one answer to the current shortage, including positive quotes from a recent male graduate. more...

 

Nurse to be featured on CNN health spots

May 19, 2003 -- Pat Carroll, RN, CEN, is scheduled to appear in two separate health spots on CNN Headline News on Wednesday May 21, 2003. One spot will be on antibiotic resistance and the other will be on safe use of antihistamines. It is rare that nurses are featured in health spots on television, so CNN is to be commended for taking this bold initiative.

 

New Zealand Herald: "Loans drive nurses out"

June 18, 2003 -- Today the New Zealand Herald ran an article by Martin Johnston about how heavy student loan burdens and relatively low pay rates encourage Kiwi nurses to work overseas, or even leave nursing for higher paying jobs, exacerbating the nation's nursing shortage. more...

 

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"The View" doesn't seem to include nursing

June 16, 2003 -- Tonight's prime time episode of ABC's "The View," which consisted of a "His and Her Body Test" designed to impart basic health information, included an attack on nursing, with co-host Meredith Vieira appearing disguised as an "ugly nurse"--as Vieira herself put it in previews--for comic interactions with passersby in a New York mall, including one segment in which Vieira cared for a woman's "shin splints" by drawing a happy face on her leg. more...

 

Procter & Gamble pulls Clairol shampoo commercial and apologizes to nurses

June 11, 2003 -- As a result of protests from nurses, Procter & Gamble promised on June 9 to stop running a Clairol Herbal Essences television commercial that showed a female nurse leave her patient unmonitored to wash her hair in his bathroom, then dance around his room, waving her hair in ecstasy. more...

 

Washington Post: "Nurses brace for SARS"

June 10, 2003 -- A very good article by Kirstin Downey in today's Washington Post describes nurses' place on the front lines of the global SARS battle, not only as primary care givers but as a critical part of the health system's efforts to track and control the disease. more...

 

NY Times op-ed: Solving nursing shortage will require more training resources

June 10, 2003 -- A powerful op-ed piece in today's New York Times by Claire Fagin, RN, Ph.D and Corinne Rieder, Ed.D. notes that people are "answering the call for more nurses," but argues that academic and other training resources must be increased in order for nursing to capitalize on the increased interest and the nation to emerge from its nursing crisis. more...

 

Globe and Mail: "Nurses seek formal SARS inquiry"

June 9, 2003 -- The Registered Nurses Association of Ontario is seeking a full judicial inquiry into the Canadian health care system's response to the SARS crisis, in order to determine if problems in that response have made the outbreak worse and how such problems can be avoided in the future, according to an article by Richard Mackie in today's Globe and Mail. more...

 

NY Times: "Overwhelmed and understaffed, nursing home workers vent anger"

June 8, 2003 -- An article by Richard Pérez-Peña in today's New York Times describes a new study by the Nursing Home Community Coalition of New York State finding that severe understaffing of the state's nursing homes is a significant threat to patients' health. more...

 

American Journal of Nursing profiles Center

May 2003 -- This month's issue of the American Journal of Nursing, the official journal of the American Nurses Association, includes a full-page profile of The Center for Nursing Advocacy and its work to improve the media's treatment of nurses. more...

 

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CNN Headline News features nurse as health expert

May 27, 2003 -- Pat Carroll, RN, MS, CEN, appeared in two different health spots on CNN Headline News on May 21, 2003 and over the May 24-26 holiday weekend, giving practical advice on antibiotic resistance and the safe use of antihistamines. more...

 

Author of controversial Florence Nightingale article responds to critic

May 26, 2003 -- On April 29, 2003, The Center posted a story entitled "Florence Nightingale: All washed up as a nursing symbol?" about an article written by Roxanne Nelson in The Washington Post. more...

 

Guardian: Psychiatric nurse manager Emma Brandon named Britain's "best boss"

May 21, 2003 -- An article by Raekha Prasad in today's Guardian describes a British charity's presentation of a "best boss" award to a senior charge nurse who introduced flexible work schedules that boosted morale, cut staff turnover and sick time, and improved patient care. more...

 

NY Times: Taiwan nurses, bearing brunt of SARS risk and burden with little support, quit "en masse"

May 21, 2003 -- A story by Donald G. McNeil Jr. in today's New York Times describes the resignations of Taiwan health workers in the face of the accelerating SARS epidemic, exploring the special pressures faced by nurses, who spend far more time with infected patients and must observe strict precautions, yet receive little support from their society or their families, who pressure them to quit to avoid the risk of infection. more...

 

Global shortage leads to exodus of experienced nurses from Philippines

May 15, 2003 -- Today the Inter Press Service News Agency ran a substantial piece by Patricia Adversario, "Nurses' Exodus Making Health System Sick," about the departure of many of the Philippines' most experienced nurses for jobs in wealthier nations which are struggling with the global nursing shortage, such as Britain, Ireland, the United States and Saudi Arabia. more...

 

AARP Bulletin highlights nursing shortage, ways to try to survive it

May 2003 -- This month's Bulletin of the American Association of Retired Persons has a helpful article by Susan Jacoby on the nursing shortage and the immediate danger it poses to patients, as well as a sidebar with tips on how patients can try to reduce that danger. more...

 

Baltimore Sun teaches readers about today's school nurses

May 12, 2003 -- Today's Baltimore Sun includes a generally helpful article by Jonathan Rockoff, "Tending bruises and deeper ills," about how much more complex the work of the United States' 58,000 school nurses has become in recent years. more...

 

Globe and Mail highlights varieties of nursing roles

May 12, 2003 -- Today Toronto's Globe and Mail ran positive pieces illustrating the diversity of nursing subspecialties in Canada, one about nurses who deliver care to remote areas and another about the growing importance of nurse practitioners. more...

 

Montel Williams show features nurse filmmaker AND HEROIC LIFE-SAVING SURGEON!

May 12, 2003 – New York NICU nurse Claire Panke, whose Discovery Health Channel documentary "A Chance to Grow" (2000) explored the experiences of families of NICU patients, was featured on the Montel Williams Show today. more...

 

Reuters: Alert Virginia ED nurse spots, handles first US SARS case

May 8, 2003 -- Today Reuters ran a piece by Maggie Fox describing how Virginia ED nurse Karin Kirby and her team spotted the first US SARS case in February and quickly took appropriate steps to protect others. more...

 

NY Times highlights special risks nurses face in SARS crisis

May 8, 2003 -- Keith Bradsher's excellent piece in today's New York Times, "At Hong Kong Hospitals, SARS Takes a Heavy Toll on Nurses," describes the heroic nurses who care for SARS patients, including the hundreds of nurses in Asia and Canada who have been infected while doing so. more...

 

Washington Post points to "older cure" to nursing shortage

May 2, 2003 -- Leef Smith's helpful article in today's Washington Post focuses on nursing students who have come to the profession later in life, and highlights the important role they are playing in efforts to address the shortage. more...

 

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Nurses at SUNY Stony Brook circulate petition to send to President Bush

April 30, 2003 -- President Bush's March 19 speech at the start of the war in Iraq included physicians but omitted nurses from a list of "first responders" to terrorism. more...

 

Guardian runs update on UK nursing shortage

April 29, 2003 -- Today the Guardian published an article by John Carvel focusing on comments by the head of Britain's largest nursing union that patients continued to suffer from the UK's critical nursing shortage, despite funding increases and a large influx of nurses from abroad. more...

 

Florence Nightingale: All washed up as nursing symbol?

April 29, 2003 -- Today The Washington Post ran an important if somewhat sensationalized piece by Roxanne Nelson on doubts some nurses have expressed as to the appropriateness of retaining Florence Nightingale as a prominent symbol of the nursing profession. more...

 

Nurses on front lines of SARS battle worldwide

April 25, 2003 -- Many publications have recently run articles about the critical role nurses are playing in the global fight against SARS. more...

 

Scotsman articles highlight Scottish nursing "crisis"

April 22, 2003 -- A piece by David Scott in The Scotsman dated today describes efforts to address the severe nursing shortage now affecting patient care in Scotland. more...

 

LA Times article relies on nursing scholar, but fails to identify her as doctorally prepared, even though it so identifies non-nurse researcher

April 21, 2003 -- An article by Shari Roni in today's Los Angeles Times describes recent studies suggesting that calcium may help teens control their weight, relying on quotes and the work of Creighton University's Joan Lappe, RN, Ph.D. more...

 

Center's work described in Nursing Spectrum

April 21, 2003 -- The Center for Nursing Advocacy's work was the subject of a news item in today's Nursing Spectrum. more...

 

Philadelphia Inquirer runs detailed obituary for nurse who joined Peace Corps at age 69

April 19, 2003 -- Today's Philadelphia Inquirer includes an obituary for Anne M. Fitz-Patrick, a retired nurse who had joined the Peace Corps at age 69 and served two years as a public health nurse at a countryside clinic in Paraguay. more...

 

NY Times: Men seen as one answer to nursing shortage

April 13, 2003 -- A piece by Eve Tahmincioglu in today's New York Times describes efforts to recruit male nurses as one way to combat the growing nursing shortage, featuring positive quotes from men who have switched to nursing from fields ranging from policing to the high-tech industry. more...

 

Lt. Col. Jimmie Keenan, U.S. Army nurse, spurs key change for trauma research

April 8, 2003 -- Gina Kolata's piece in today's New York Times, "Trauma Medicine: Stepchild No More," highlights the exciting opportunities created by a recent change in federal law allowing the Defense Department to participate in clinical trauma research. more...

 

Jerusalem Post: Israeli public health nurses strike, halting preventative care, in bid to save patients who rely on world class family health service

April 6, 2003 -- Judy Siegel-Itzkovitz's piece in today's Jerusalem Post describes the ongoing strike by some 2,200 Israeli public health nurses who object to the government's plans to restructure the family health service, a move the nurses say will harm children and others who rely on the service. more...

 

Nurses object to Hartford Courant's portrayal of nursing as "custodial care"

March 25, 2003 -- In a letter to the Editor of The Hartford Courant, two Connecticut nurses objected to the portrayal of nurses in a March 9 Courant article by Hilary Waldman, The Nurses of 7-7. more...

 

Almodóvar wins Oscar for movie featuring nurse character

March 24, 2003 -- Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar has won the 2002 Academy Award for best original screenplay for "Talk to Her." more...

 

New Zealand nurses halt offensive Lion beer ad campaign

March 17, 2003 -- In February 2003, New Zealand's largest brewer, Lion, began an advertising campaign for its popular Lion Red beer which involved female "nurses" in short dresses with the company's logo affixed on a red cross sewn onto the fronts and buttocks of the uniform. more...

 

NY Times Magazine's "Medicine and Its Myths" issue includes nursing shortage article, but reflects prevailing bias by devoting vast majority of issue to work of physicians

March 16, 2003 -- The New York Times Magazine's annual "medical" issue dated today includes eight articles on physicians or medicine, and one generally helpful article "The Last Shift" about the nursing shortage by Sara Corbett. more...

 

Hack TV drama features nurse righting physician wrong, but misses mark on nursing

March 15, 2003 -- The March 14 episode of the CBS drama "Hack" focused on the efforts of Philadelphia cop-turned-cabbie Mike Olshansky (David Morse) and his estranged wife Heather (Donna Murphy), a nurse, to bring to justice an overworked ED resident who misses a diagnosis, then changes a medical record to cover it up when the patient dies. more...

 

Boston television reporter disrespects nurses

March 4, 2003 – A gossip column in the February 12 Boston Herald entitled "Smock-clad Sara Edwards nurses her role on 'ER'" included comments by a local television reporter that showed disrespect for nurses. more...

 

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel publishes front-page articles on the work of nurses and the nursing shortage

February 25, 2003 – After spending three days following nurses, journalist Joel Dresang wrote two well-done articles on nursing that appeared on consecutive days on the front page of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. more...

 

Second Scrubs episode with Rick Schroder continues positive depiction of male nurse

February 21, 2003 -- The February 20 "Scrubs" episode again featured Rick Schroder's portrayal of Paul Flowers, the confident, witty and sensitive nurse character currently dating physician Elliot Reed (Sarah Chalke). more...

 

Men at work: Is Scrubs hurting or helping male nurses?

January 30, 2003 -- The January 30 episode of the popular NBC show "Scrubs" guest starred Rick Schroeder as hunky nurse Paul Flowers, who catches the eye of physician Elliot Reed (Sarah Chalke). more...

 

Presidio and MDs both canceled

January 30, 2003 -- CBS's "Presidio Med" and ABC's "MDs" both appear to have been canceled, based on news reports. more...

 

Two RN Ph.D's discuss the nursing shortage on public television

January 30, 2003 -- Maryland Public Television aired a program on the nursing shortage . . . more...

 

Zima commercial will no longer air

January 27, 2003 -- A Zima (colorless beer) commercial depicting a "dream date" in which a female "nurse" dressed in a revealing uniform acted as the submissive temptress of a young male "physician," has finished its life cycle and will no longer air, more...

 

Congress may fund Nurse Reinvestment Act at drastically reduced level

January 24, 2003 -- After a five month delay, the Senate has approved funding of only $20 million of the $250 million requested for the Nurse Reinvestment Act, and even the reduced amount must still be approved in committee with the House. more...

 

Baltimore Sun article devalues the role of Nurse Practitioners

January 4, 2003 -- A Baltimore Sun article about a Nurse Practitioner-run clinic is entitled "A doctor's office rolls out" and describes the primary care patient of the NP as a person who "could use a physician's touch." more...

 

Under-staffing of nurses by hospitals leads to an increase in patient mortality

January 2003 -- Nurse researchers describe how patients deteriorate unnoticed and die when hospitals under-staff nurses. more...
 

 

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