In defense of the View (sort of)

I in no way condone the comments that were made. I am not a fan of the view. I never watched it. And although what they said obviously was not true, we should not be offended. We should realize that this is unfortunately the image that is being perpetuated in the media, and is reminiscent of our grandmothers when they were nurses. There was a time where nurses really were CNA's that passed medications and would never question the doctors. That has definitely changed. We are now strong, proud, noble, independent and most of all educated. We are assessing, and intervening, and making life or death decisions for our patients every day. We are more than ass wiping, bed pan changing, pill popping, turkey sandwich getting slaves that can't bump up the oxygen without a doctors order. But we still have that image. I cringe when I see the sexy nurse costumes. I cringe when I see the "Nurse ratched", the "ditzy slut" or the burnt out "alcoholic nurse" stereotypes on television and movies. We have a PR problem. We need to educate the public with every contact about what we do. I have done CPR on a kid, walked into the room and cried with the family, then off to wrestle a psych patient that is trying to hurt my staff, and then take an elderly woman off a bed pan, and dial back a potassium infusion that was burning, then off to realize that my chest pain patient with CHF is now flashing. I love what I do and would continue working even if I hit the lottery. My love of my job is only second to my love of my family. I am proud to be a nurse. I am proud of all of you who are nurses. I am proud to stand along side you, work along side you, stand up for you, laugh and cry with you.