Please respond to two peer posts to a discussion. Include what you agree with, like and add a reference.

Peer 1: I believe that the media portrayal of nursing does affect how some patients might perceive nurses as authority figures. Media including movies, shows, and social media apps have all had their own take on all types of professions for better or for worse. A popular movie that comes to mind is ‘Meet The Parents’ in which the main character portrayed by Ben Stiller is a male nurse that is downplayed and joked about almost always when his profession is brought up for not being a doctor and for just being a male in the nursing field which hits home for me. Things like this not only influences the publics image of nurses but it also discourages those that might be looking at a profession that they are passionate about to pursue their dreams due to the impressions others might have of them using only what they have seen in movies or other media outlets.

The media rarely portrays nurses providing care in settings other than a hospital; settings such as community clinics or in homes (Berkowitz, 2014). Nurses can play a major role in improving the health of underserved communities through things such as teaching and advocating for clients in community health settings about leading a healthier lifestyle and what it should look like, along with providing necessary resources available to the community. There are many scopes of practice in nursing and just picking to volunteer or work at a clinic in an underserved community to do something like provide vaccinations to diseases that are prevalent to the area would be supporting the real image of nursing, which is trying to provide care for those in need.

Peer 2: Hey class,

Media is a powerful source that affects the human mind. Studies show that media portrays nursing profession in a negative way. For example, nurses are portrayed as self-centered, uncaring, romantic escapades and hard party people. “Nurses have been overlooked as autonomous healthcare providers due to an inaccurate image which projects them as uncaring and trusted yet lacking in influence and autonomy.” (Godsey, Houghton, 2020). Also, many shows portray the nursing job as an easy, fun, and careless profession, where nurses just watch shows and gossip at the nurse’s station. Many people chose nursing because of Grey’s Anatomy, because of the false representations.

Some roles that nurses can play that will reflect the real image of nursing would be to get real stories to media. There are many inspirational nurses who can tell their stories on TV or make a documentary. Also, by becoming a community leader and making a change can also play a role in telling a story. Maintaining a professional image at work will also show others about the real roles of nursing. “From an educational perspective, a unified entry academic level into the nursing profession will help the nursing image.” (Godsey, Houghton, 2020). In any field, the representatives should always portray a professional image in order to reflect the real picture of it.