Shakespeare's Prince Hamlet as medical professional (Nurse) - Essay Example

To illustrate this point, several attributes of a good nurse will be discussed and then applied to a well-known fictional character, Shakespeare’s Prince Hamlet, to conjecture whether this character would have made an effective nurse. Nurses are often the first and most frequent care-giver of a person in need of medical services. Because everyone living will need medical services at some point or another, nurses must be dedicated to providing them while respecting the rights of all people to be treated with dignity and respect.

“Nurses must respect the rights of all people regardless of age, race, social status, sexual orientation and religious beliefs. Nurses demonstrate unbiased compassion for all” (“Is Nursing Right”, 2000). In this respect, Hamlet would not make an effective nurse as there are several instances within the play where he is not able to display unbiased opinions or respect for others. He demonstrates outright disdain for Polonius, openly accusing him of being false, shows disgust for his uncle and chastises his mother for her actions.

His anger at his mother carries over into his treatment of Ophelia as well, causing him to accuse her of thoughts and intentions she’d never dreamed of. This is deemed a very important characteristic for a nurse to have as there is no avoiding the need to treat all individuals requiring medical assistance and Hamlet’s inability to overcome his rage, however justified, would be a difficult trait to overcome. Another characteristic of a good nurse is a willingness to learn. More than simply being willing to put in the extra training and hard work necessary to pass mandatory nursing certification tests, “Nurses are motivated to keep up with trends and research in the profession and to value life-long learning” (“Is Nursing Right”, 2000).

This is a trait that Hamlet possesses. He is back in Denmark after having been away to study, called to return to his