Changing how the world thinks about nursing
News on Nursing in the Media
Headlines:
Elmo, so good on vaccines, not so good on nursing
Ebola and nursing in the news media
Nurses excel in public health efforts
NY Med returns with more heroic surgeons, plus nurses with zany patients
ADVANCE for Nurses posts Truth leaders' piece on improving the Magnet Program
Create street art with Truth posters!
See Sandy Summers live in the coming months!
Truth's founder and executive director is booked to speak at Hopkins, New Jersey and Riyadh in the coming months!
Order a copy of our updated second edition today!
Book Sandy Summers to strengthen your nurses!
Elmo, so good on vaccines, not so good on nursing
April 17, 2015 -- Today, Sesame Street character Elmo and U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy teamed up in two public service announcements to promote vaccinations. The 30-second version emphasizes that vaccinations are safe and that they keep us healthy--an urgent message in the wake of the recent measles outbreak. Unfortunately, the three-minute version includes a 30-second interaction with "Nurse Jane," who appears to give Elmo a vaccination. Jane is dressed professionally, with a white coat and stethoscope. But there are many problems. While the spot makes a gentle joke of Murthy's many titles and credentials (we hope the Sesame Street audience is impressed by his "MBA"), the nurse is introduced only as "Nurse Jane"--no surname, no credential, no position. Murthy provides good information about vaccines and germs. But Nurse Jane shows no knowledge of anything except how to give the shot and then apply a little bandage with cute red and white hearts. She utters a total of 17 words. When Elmo asks if the shot Jane is giving will hurt, it is Murthy who answers and deftly distracts Elmo by encouraging him to sing, so Elmo does not even notice the shot--a classic nursing move. 
And while Murthy is authoritative, friendly, and funny, the Jane character seems amiable but a bit dim, like a low-skilled handmaiden who performs simple tasks while the physician does the patient education and public health policy. In fact, nurses are autonomous, college-educated health experts (with surnames!) whose scope of practice is notable for its focus on public health and patient education. One example is the U.S. Public Health Service's own Chief Nurse Officer, Rear Admiral Sylvia Trent-Adams, RN, PhD. The PSA was produced by the Daily Dot, written by Evan Weiss and Matt Silverman, and directed by Silverman. We have urged the PSA creators and the Department of Health & Human Services to pull the three-minute spot before it further damages nursing--and public health--and then to eliminate the degrading nursing element. Unfortunately, that has not happened. But we remain in discussions with them about working together in the future to create public health media with more positive depictions of nursing. more...and see the video...
Nurses excel in public health efforts
December 2014 -- Nurses' roles in handling the global Ebola outbreak drew media attention in the second half of 2014, but during this same period, press reports also showed nurses taking autonomous leadership roles in other efforts to improve public health. On June 24, National Public Radio ran a piece by Sarah Jane Tribble describing the work of Ohio county health department nurse Jacqueline Fletcher to vaccinate patients in response to a measles outbreak in the state's largely unvaccinated Amish community. On December 19, The Huffington Post ran Nico Pitney's profile and interview of Martha Ryan, the San Francisco nurse who founded and directs the Homeless Prenatal Program, which has helped hundreds of women rebuild their lives. On December 29, the Des Moines Register had a short item about efforts to reduce drunk driving during the New Year's Eve period that focused on Sioux City nurse Carla Granstrom, who distributes cocktail napkins discouraging the deadly practice as part of a long-running program based at her hospital. And on December 30, the Sydney Morning Herald posted an item by Stephanie Gardiner about child and family health nurse Sue Colville, who discusses her work to help families manage post-natal depression and the stress of modern parenthood. These reports show nurses practicing in very different settings. But all the reports enhance public understanding that nurses play key roles in developing and implementing health initiatives, sensitively addressing community needs that others may overlook. We thank those responsible. more...
NY Med returns with more heroic surgeons, plus nurses with zany patients
August 2014 -- This summer ABC aired the second season of Terence Wrong's documentary series NY Med, which focuses mainly on surgeons and other physicians at several New York City area hospitals. As in the first season in 2012, these eight new episodes mostly follow heroic surgeons and their patients over the course of extended treatment processes. Once again, TV personality and heart surgeon Mehmet Oz lends his star quality to several episodes. The series also features some emergency department (ED) physicians in New York and Newark, showing them to be expert and commanding. Last and least, as in 2012, the series includes occasional segments with three veteran ED nurses. They do, rarely, get chances to display health knowledge and skill, although their interludes are really more about the zany patients they encounter. This time, two of the nurses get a bit more attention when they temporarily become patients themselves, because of a heart condition and a car accident. The third nurse gets fired early on as a result of a social media fail, only to re-appear undaunted later at a different hospital. In contrast to Showtime's Nurse Jackie, a drama that depicts a fictional New York ED, Terence Wrong rarely focuses on nurses and physicians collaborating or interacting about the same patient. It is as if the brief nurse segments are light comic relief that he would not want to clutter the serious, in-depth surgical stories; those tend to ignore any nursing role in the care of profiled patients. If Mr. Wrong makes more shows like this in the future--and he has been at it since Hopkins 24/7 in 2000--we urge him to convey more of the life-saving roles that nurses play in critical care. Thank you. more...
Press coverage
ADVANCE: Truth leaders on improving the Magnet program
June 9, 2015 - Today ADVANCE for Nurses posted a substantial opinion piece by Truth director Sandy Summers and senior advisor Harry Summers about ways to improve the Magnet program, whose goal is to certify hospitals at which nursing is strong. The piece is "The Magnet Program: This nursing process should be a floor, not a ceiling." The authors argue that while Magnet has provided real benefits, it could do more by "improving transparency as to program standards, ensuring adequate nurse-to-patient ratios, creating nurse-led hospitals, moving aggressively to promote safe care models, and promoting the Magnet program itself to the public." We thank ADVANCE for posting our op-ed. See the op-ed here.
Create some street art with Truth posters! It's better than Banksy!
March 2015 -- The Truth has some new posters! They mix positive photo images of nurses with common stereotypes, along with short explanations, to help people reconsider their views of nurses. Consider deploying these posters in your clinical setting, on your college campus, around your city or town, or anywhere you think they might create cognitive dissonance. You might even take and post photos of the posters in these settings. For instance, consider placing the monkey poster near something with a biology or science theme, the battle-axe near some conflict-related location, and the naughty nurse near some appropriate venue, like a bar that advertises "penny shots for naughty nurses" (an actual promotion at a Pittsburgh bar in 2008, according to a correspondent).
Please download the posters free of charge by clicking on the links here or to the right. If you wish, send us photos showing where you've hung them at letters@truthaboutnursing.org Thank you!!
Get a copy of the updated second edition of Saving Lives with every $30 donation!
Donate $30 to the Truth now, and we will send you a copy of our leaders' newly released book Saving Lives: Why the Media's Portrayal of Nursing Puts Us All at Risk. The first edition of Saving Lives won an American Journal of Nursing Book of the Year Award and an award from the international nursing honor society, Sigma Theta Tau. The book was written for nurses, the media, and members of the public around the world. Many nursing professors use it as a text to discuss nursing in society. The authors donate all royalties to the Truth About Nursing. Order today--paperback or digital--and we will send a copy out to you!
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 across North America. 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! Click here for more details.
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!
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Educate the world that nurses save lives!
