National Nurses United

RoseAnn DeMoro Executive Director, National Nurses United T Reality Check MTV's new series is a setback for media's portrayal of nurses he work of a direct-care registered nurse in our nation's hospitals in this day and age is serious business not for the faint of heart. The public's image of nurses is in transition as patients and their families watch their nurse in action advocating for their safe care. We are finally moving on, away from the images of white-capped silent handmaidens to doctors or naughty nurse sex objects. There is a reason nurses have been voted the most honest and ethical profession in 13 years of Gallup polls. All of which is what makes MTV's tasteless new nurse "reality" TV show, Scrubbing In, so offensive. The show follows a group of young travel nurses on assignment in Southern California and, extrapolating from what we saw in the first episode which aired Oct. 24, mainly features the nurses, both women and men, partying in scantily clad attire far from a clinical setting. It's no wonder that the California Nurses Association-represented staff nurses at one of the hospitals where this show was filmed, Coastal Communities Hospital, objected to the show and refused to participate. They knew MTV would not portray nurses as the skilled clinicians and healers they are. MTV's response to date? "The program should not be seen as representative of the nursing profession in general. This TV series is meant to entertain, not inform." This show is neither entertaining nor informative. History is filled with forms of "entertainment" that have been discontinued because they were finally recognized as dishonest and harmful. Demeaning imagery and media portrayals do real damage to real people. That's why social movements, including the civil rights, women's, and gay rights movements recognize that winning accurate and positive O C TO B E R 2 01 3 • Working with senior citizens to fight the closure of their local hospital in Manteca, Calif. • Marching in the streets of our nation's capital and walking the halls of Congress to win support for the Robin Hood Tax, a small tax on Wall Street financial transactions that will provide hundreds of billions of dollars into the budget and refocus on a human needs budget, not just an endless cycle of more austerity and more cuts. MTV is targeting a young demographic with this series and most of its programming, so it is no surprise that young nursing students led the charge in protesting the series. "Scrubbing In tarnishes the professional image of nursing that has been built up by those who came MTV's response to date? "The before us," states the Canadian program should not be seen as Nursing Students Association representative of the nursing in an open letter protesting the profession in general. This TV series series. "It is important to is meant to entertain, not inform." advance a professional and This show is neither entertaining positive image of nursing," the nor informative. History is filled students argue, adding, "this is with forms of "entertainment" that especially true when portraying have been discontinued because the profession in a television they were finally recognized as program targeted to youth who dishonest and harmful. are in the midst of exploring various career options." A Milwaukee, Wis., nursing student professionals in the workplace and as launched an online petition directed to advocates on the front lines of social MTV executives as soon as she saw the change. trailer in early October. Let's remember, too, there is little to no NNU added our voice to the outcry, programming that covers the labor movement mounting an online letter writing campaign or economics from the perspective of workers. on all social media platforms directed to That's why shows like this are so pernicious— MTV executives. We are also targeting there is hardly any media to counter or advertisers supporting the series who should augment their portrayal. And this is not for a be ashamed to be affiliated with the series, lack of real stories or activities to cover. including Johnson & Johnson, Proctor & In just the past few weeks alone, NNU Gamble, Google, and ATT. nurses have been engaged in dramatic RNs deserve the respect of the public, struggles in communities across the country. and we make sure anyone who attempts to As the Scrubbing In nurses whiled away tarnish that is reminded of that fact. their time soaking in hot tubs and getting drunk, NNU nurses were: • Campaigning for safe RN-to-patient RoseAnn DeMoro is executive director of National ratios in the District of Columbia. Nurses United. media portrayals is a necessary condition to advancing their social justice agendas. Nurses have difficult jobs fighting every day as patient advocates, ensuring that care isn't sacrificed at the hands of corporate decision-makers. Nurses have families, are often sole providers of their households, work two jobs, and have, on average, been working at the bedside for several decades. Today, NNU nurses are at the forefront of the struggle for social justice and quality healthcare for all. If nurses are to be taken seriously, we need media that shows the key roles they are playing as highly skilled W W W. N A T I O N A L N U R S E S U N I T E D . O R G N AT I O N A L N U R S E 11

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