News on Nursing in the Media
Headlines:
blah blah excellent nursing care
blah blah government shutdown
nothing that I know of
Speaking engagements October 27
Listen to Sandy and Harry Summers on Midday with Dan Rodricks on WYPR, the Baltimore NPR radio station, October 27, 2014 from 12:00-1:00 pm.
See Sandy and Harry Summers live at the Baltimore Central Library
on October 27 discussing the new updated edition of Saving Lives!
Pre-order a copy of the updated second edition of Saving Lives today!
Get Truth posters and place them at your school or workplace!
December 29, 2013 -- The second season of the BBC drama Call the Midwife, capped off by the Christmas special that aired tonight in the United States, featured more portrayals of skilled, autonomous nurse midwives caring for a poor community in late 1950's London. The 8-episode regular season was broadcast in the U.S. on PBS between March and May 2013. It included several notable examples of the nurses' work, which ranged from skilled birthing to managing community-wide issues, with a good deal of spirited patient advocacy. In one April episode, the midwives cared effectively for a pregnant woman whose twin sister favored traditional remedies and was very hostile to the midwives' modern health practice for most of the episode. In that same episode, nurse Jenny Lee was temporarily assigned to an understaffed local hospital, where a bullying surgeon showed disdain for her operating room skills. Yet Jenny caught a nearly fatal error by that same surgeon, who had failed to run a test that would have enabled proper diagnosis of a patient. And Jenny later informed her receptive nurse manager that the surgeon might have neurological issues, which seemed to be confirmed after the surgeon apparently removed himself from practice. In an early May episode, Sister Bernadette joined physician colleague Patrick Turner in advocating persuasively before a local health authority for X-ray equipment for much-needed community tuberculosis screenings. And in the May season finale, nurse Chummy astutely diagnosed pre-eclampsia in a woman who was not even her patient, allowing a healthy birth. The show's nurse characters occasionally display undue deference to physicians, but we have no reason to doubt the accuracy of those scenes given the . In fact, the show probably has the best overall portrayal of nursing autonomy of any major health-related series shown in the United States in recent years. So far, Call the Midwife has avoided suggestions that the nurses report to physicians. Instead, the junior nurses report to senior ones, and for the most part, they provide skilled care on their own in the community. The show was created by Heidi Thomas, who wrote some of this season's episodes, and based on a memoir by Jennifer Worth. more...
October 11, 2013 -- Today the Huffington Post reported that the partial federal government shutdown was threatening to stop forensic nurse examiners from helping sexual assault victims in the District of Columbia. The blog post explained that the relevant programs rely on federal funding, and it focused on the worrisome funding outlook. But it also explained that the nurses do rape kits that are critical to the criminal justice system. And it suggested that they act as advocates for victims, helping them through the various aspects of the process. The piece might have done more to educate the public about what the forensic nurses do, particularly their skilled physical and psychosocial care and their forensic testimony in court. But the post did at least signal the importance of having the nurses on call 24-7 to come to hospitals and care for victims. We thank the Huffington Post and political bloggers Amanda Terkel and Jason Cherkis. more...
Press coverage
See Sandy and Harry Summers live!
Midday with Dan Rodricks on WYPR -- October 27, 2014
Sandy and Harry Summers will be interviewed on the Dan Rodricks show WYPR's NPR station from 12 noon to 1 pm. Listen live!
Central Library, Baltimore -- October 27, 2014
Baltimore's Central Library will feature Sandy and Harry Summers discussing their book Saving Lives as part of the library's "Writers LIVE!" series at 6:30 p.m. on October 27 in the Poe Room (2nd floor). The Central Library is the main branch of the Enoch Pratt Free Library system and is located at 400 Cathedral St., Baltimore, MD 21201. more...
Pre-order a copy of the new updated second edition of Saving Lives with every $30 donation!
If you donate at least $30 to the Truth now, we will send you a copy of our leaders' book Saving Lives: Why the Media's Portrayal of Nursing Puts Us All at Risk when it is released in late September, 2014. Saving Lives continues to influence nurses, the media, and members of the public around the world. Saving Lives has won an American Journal of Nursing Book of the Year Award and an award from the international nursing honor society, Sigma Theta Tau. Many nursing professors use the book as a text to discuss nursing in society. The authors donate all royalties to support The Truth About Nursing. Pre-order today--paperback or digital and we will send you a copy when it is released in September!
Planning speakers? Support the Truth by inviting Sandy Summers to empower your nurses!
Media images of health care--like the ones on ABC's popular Grey's Anatomy-- have an important effect on the nursing profession. Many nurses and nursing students feel frustrated when influential media products undervalue nurses. But how can we change what the media tells the public about nursing? Sandy Summers has led high-profile efforts to promote more accurate and robust depictions of nursing since 2001. She has shared her insights in dynamic presentations to groups internationally. She empowers nurses and teaches them how to shape their image into one that reflects the profession's true value. When nurses get the respect they deserve, they will attract more resources for nursing practice, education, and research, so we can resolve the nursing shortage. Sign Sandy up for your next conference, nurses' week celebration, or gala event! All honoraria go directly to support the Truth's operations. When you invite Sandy to speak, you make the Truth's work possible since honoraria are our biggest source of funding. Thank you! Click here for more details.
Place Truth About Nursing posters at your school or workplace
Tell colleagues and patients the truth! Our "I Am Your Registered Nurse" poster presents nurses as autonomous professionals on whom patients can rely. The poster explains that nurses are modern science professionals who protect and advocate for patients and empowers nurses to meet those challenges. Designed for the bedside, the poster comforts patients by educating them about the care environment and assuring them that nurses are there to fend for them.
Or consider the Truth's "Can Short Dresses Cause Short Staffing?" poster. This one takes humorous aim at the naughty nurse image that continues to haunt advertisements and other media, especially those aimed at males. The poster connects the naughty nurse image with the broader undervaluation that leads to gross underfunding of nursing education, research, and practice, ultimately threatening patients.
For every dollar that you donate, we'll send you up to 4 posters to hang at your school or workplace. Just email us at info@truthaboutnursing.org to tell us how many you'd like and where to send them. Thank you!
Get involved in helping us change how the world thinks about nursing. Check out our action page or start a chapter of the Truth in your home town. Or join us on Facebook!
Please support The Truth About Nursing
We need your help so we can pursue this mission together. We would be very grateful if you could make a donation--even if it is $5, $10 or $25. Any amount would be so helpful. Please click here to donate. Thank you!
The Truth About Nursing is an international non-profit organization based in Baltimore that seeks to help the public understand the central role nurses play in health care. The Truth promotes more accurate media portrayals of nurses and greater use of nurses as expert sources. The group is led by Sandy Summers, co-author of Saving Lives: Why the Media's Portrayal of Nurses Puts Us All At Risk.
Thank you for supporting the Truth About Nursing's work!
Sandy Summers, RN, MSN, MPH
Founder and Executive Director
The Truth About Nursing
203 Churchwardens Rd.
Baltimore, Maryland, USA 21212-2937
office 1-410-323-1100
fax 1-410-510-1790
ssummers@truthaboutnursing.org
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Educate the world that nurses save lives!
