Nursing Image Analysis - Essay Example

Nursing Image Analysis Nowadays nurses are the most needed health practitioners in the American health system. They are the ones who communicate with the patient directly, and who are in charge of satisfying most of the clients needs, from physiological to psychological and social ones. Unfortunately, the career of a registered nurse is not very popular now, due to the modest earnings most of the nurses have. This is maybe why numerous TV shows try to make it more popular by creating an attractive image of a registered nurse.

This essay will analyze the image of nurse in a TV show Strong Medicine, shown from Lifetime TV channel. In Strong Medicine there is the crew of the leading actors, from which only one character is a registered nurse. The other nurses that appear in this show are in supportive roles. Due to this fact, Peter Riggs is shown taking the active role in the proceedings, while the background actors playing nurses usually aren't the objects of the operator's attention. They are shown primarily to create the feeling of reality of the things that take place on the screen, as most of the audience knows that doctors don't spend most of their time with patients, and that there are other medical workers who satisfy minor patients' needs.

In Strong Medicine the nurses on the background are usually shown engaged in their professional practice, while Peter Riggs, one of the leading characters is also depicted in various non-professional situations. In most cases it is a nurse, who provides the actual nursing care, but it sometimes happens that the doctors also do the nursing chores, such as providing physical, psychological and social comfort to the patients. In the episodes where both physicians and nurses act, the physicians seem to be in control of the situation, but it is also shown that the nurses understand the patients' need better than the physicians do.

The age of the nurses shown in this show vary from the youngest ones who recently got their certificates, to aged and experienced nurses. Most of the nurses in the show are single women. Peter Riggs, who's shown more often than the other nurses are, is a calm, experienced and intelligent man. He's the man of great knowledge in the fields of holistic medicine, massage and philosophy. He's also an experienced medical worker, as he's practiced in many third world countries helping people who couldn't afford paying for decent medical care.

What is interesting, the nurses are rarely shown as the ambitious ones, unlike the doctors. The nurses are usually calmer and more down to earth people, and they usually care more for the patients' comfort than for their own. The personality traits of nurses are depicted as normal ones. The creators of the show know perfectly that the nurses are usually on the second roles, thus it's no wonder they aren't very ambitious. Despite of that Peter Riggs differs much from all of the other characters, his craving to decide for himself what will be better for the patient (including using the holistic medicine methods) is often disapproved by the medical workers from the staff.

The nurse characters in this show mostly take care of the patients and their comfort. It's important for them that the patients feel protected and cared about. Most of them help people regardless of their opinion about the person they are caring about. In Strong Medicine there is no demeaning of nurses due to their gender characteristics. Of course, there are more woman nurses there, but it merely reflects the existing situation. Like in most TV shows aired there are few romantic lines in it.

Peter Riggs is the ideal of a man for many of the woman he works with due to his personal traits and, of course, attractive appearance. In the show we are talking about, the career of the registered nurse is depicted as quite a fulfilling one for most of the nurses. It is shown there that a person has to have specific spirit and temper for to be successful and satisfied being a nurse. Peter's work is depicted as a very creative activity, but the chores of other nurses in the show are usually more boring and unpleasant.

For Peter Riggs his occupation is very important as it is the way that allows him to realize his values and principles. For Peter his occupation is of no less value than for other medical practitioners, present in the show.