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Nursing is basically a scientific and social profession
with a widespread vision, where nurses care for
the physical needs of the people at the same time
satisfies their emotional, psychological, and
intellectual as well as social and spiritual demands.
These Nurses though get professional training
but apart from professional training and experiences,
a good nurse posses high humanistic quality and
has in depth understanding of not only the psychology
of her/his patients but also proves to be very
soft and patience when her/his patients behave
in some rude, unethical and humiliating manner.
However, while devoting their love and care to
the patients, these nurses ignore the dirty and
smelly condition of the patient with a smile on
their face. For instance, when patients do pee
or vomit on the bed or when they need help to
make them do pee or any thing like that, it is
the nurses who gives them a comfortable and healthy
environment with moral as well as physical and
emotional support. They not only educated them
about how to take care of themselves but also
enlighten them regarding the various health care
tips with the necessity of cleanliness of both
the environment as well as physic. At the same
time, nurses also offer their services in guiding
for a healthy and balanced diet to the patient
to adopt as a lifetime principle. (Giger, Davidhiza
1990)
However, the institution of nursing is also divided
into two classes of the society. There are nurses
who work in cities and big professional hospitals
as well as there are nursing homes in the city
as well as in rural areas that lack basic health
care facilities for not only the patients but
also the nurses have to suffer from these basic
deficiencies. (Anderko, Robertson and Lewis, 1999).
On the other hand likewise gender discrimination
is practiced in various aspects in the society,
we also find differences in male and female nurses.
Though both have the same potential and ability
to offer their humanistic services to the patients
and the needy but they are discriminated in regard
of educational standards, hiring them and the
salary thing. (Kramer and Hafner, 1989) At the
same time, we also find differences in the projection
of media. There was a time that the profession
of nursing was considered to be best for women
but now with the passage of time and modernization,
men are equally participating in this filed. However,
educational institutions also provide professional
trainings and courses regarding nursing have also
developed to a great extent.
Though currently there are many issues regarding
the oppression of professional nursing groups
but this paper will discuss the oppression of
nursing groups with specific reference to the
role of media.
Media and Nursing Profession
Media plays a very important role in exploiting
or enhancing the image of various social, political,
national and international or personal issues.
At the same time, media also has the credit to
internationalize these issues globally, as people
belonging to any country of this globe and related
to any socio-culture and ethnic group or any profession
of this world are aware of the happenings of each
corner of the world. Therefore, media plays a
very significant role in highlighting any small
and simple issue to make efforts to bring solutions
to that very issue and to uncover the hidden truths
of any society, political group or state.
The Image Of Nursing In Media
Though electronic media is currently playing a
significant role in encouraging the prestigious
profession of nursing but print media is more
active in this regard. We find a number of articles
and research work done on the various aspects
of nursing. For instance, the issues faced by
both women and men before and after entering the
profession of nursing. The different stages from
education and training to appointments, all these
stages are not simple and easy tasks. Nurses especially
women nurses have to undergo a number of challenges
to get admissions into educational institutes,
training institutes and then the appointment for
nursing is not an easy task. (Aiken, Clarke, Cheung
and Silber, September 24,2003) Therefore, the
media addresses all these issues and hurdles.
However, the role of media regarding the profession
of nursing has been in constant change prior to
both the great World Wars. Prior to the First
World War, media highlighted the profession of
nursing as the most moral, respectable one by
projecting nurses as the virginal angels of mercy.
Though, up till the end of World War II it was
projected that women are the heroines of the society.
However, the role of media in projecting the image
of women nurses from the Post-war period has started
changing in a negative manner. Initially they
were promoted with disrespect if they were wife
or a mother, and if an unmarried women opt for
this profession, she was not respected enough
to get married to with any respectable man of
the society. So the negative projection of media
resulted the prestigious profession of nursing
the principle steppingstone towards marriage.
At the same time it makes the women nurses feel
the most oppressed group of the American society.
Therefore, some media agencies are not playing
a very constructive or positive role towards the
profession of nursing though some good projects
are also on screen that are focusing on the various
issues related to the profession of nursing. But
some media groups are projecting stereotype images
about this profession, discriminating men from
women to be a part of this profession. For instance,
they are projecting the image to the society that
women are best suitable to the profession of nursing
as they are naturally created by God to be the
health care supervisor of their houses as they
are housewives. They are also adding disrespect
to the profession of nursing by promoting the
idea that women nurses have strong backs and weak
minds. (Kalisch, Art. 9, 1996) So, the print media
is also focusing on the profession of nurses in
a negative manner by projecting stories about
nurses that is humiliating their prestigious profession.
For instance, it is projected that usually nurses
develop a flirty relation with men doctors to
seduce them and play footsie with the intention
to emotionally involve the them to finally marry
with, (Fagin, Maraldo and Mason, Nov. 18,2004)
which is to some extent true but not done by all
nurses and doctors. But the media is projecting
this image in such a weird manner that makes it
humiliating and disrespecting, as this is the
personal behavior of an individual that varies
from person to person.
Another instance regarding the doctor and nurse
images projected by media is the dress code of
nurses, as media is promoting the image that women
dressed in nursing uniforms over all produce an
erotic picture towards not only the doctors but
also to the men nurses and patients as well. (Fagin,
Maraldo and Mason, Nov. 19,2004) However, this
is ridiculous and the stereotype mentality of
some media agencies that disrespect women nurses
symbolizing their uniform dress as naughty and
erotic inviting men towards sexuality by their
seductive behavior.
Similarly dramas, talk shows and movies as well
as music albums are also spreading an image of
disrespect not to the profession of nursing but
regarding the nurses, which is off course immoral
as well as not legal to defame individuals of
any certain group just due to their God gifted
natural sexy appearance or any working uniform.
For instance, a recently pop rock album, “blink-182,
Enema of the State” made from the same movie,
is projecting satirical and naughty images of
women nurses. (Fagin, Maraldo and Mason, October
26, 2004) If media is projecting women nurses
of being a symbol of naughty, seductive and erotic
individuals to entertain and flirt men at hospitals,
media should also highlight the role of men that
how they seduce nurses at hospitals and how they
sexually assault them side-by-side. Well this
behavior of men is not new since it is practiced
at all working places discriminating women from
men by these emotional and sensitive tools.
Moreover, media is also promoting a negative image
of some nursing homes by exaggerating the death
rates at nursing homes due to the ignorance of
health care by the nurses. At the same time another
image is projected by the media is that many health
care projects promoted by political groups do
not talk about nursing homes to provide health
care to the patients. (Billingsley and Shelton
and Wood, Nov-Dec, 1994) So in this way both the
nurses as well as the nursing homes are being
projected in a negative manner highlighting nursing
homes places for deaths of the patients. However,
the fact does not lie in the careless behavior
of the nurses but the lack of health care facilities
as well as shortage of experienced and well-educated
nurses. At the same time, the shortage of nurses
in various nursing homes is also participating
as an encouraging source to the media to project
a negative image of nursing. (Fagin, 2001)
On the other hand, we also find many print media
agencies explaining the significant role of nursing
via media. For instance, according to the prestige
survey, out of the 93 professions, nursing stands
91. (Linda, April 1996) however, the prestige
associated to the profession of nursing still
has no comparison to the tremendous contributions
that the nurses devote to the society at large.
Therefore, media is advertising various nursing
educational programs along their employment opportunities.
They are highlighting the prestigious role of
nursing profession.
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