With each season in television, there are new programs to greet viewers, and this year, nurses will see portrayals of their
own profession in two new dramas: Nurse Jackie on Showtime and Hawthorne on TNT.
Cable and network television are notorious for drawing the ire of those in the nursing field for the lack of realism demonstrated
on shows such as Grey's Anatomy and House, where the norm is to see physicians tackling nearly all of the duties that in real life nurses actually handle.
Buzz about Hawthorne, which premiered in mid-June, has taken a backseat to Nurse Jackie. Some nurses who have caught previews of Showtime's dark comedy, starring Edie Falco as Jackie Peyton, RN, are far from impressed;
rather, many are put off by the lead character's apparent lack of ethics—namely, her drug addiction, in-hospital sexual activities
with a pharmacist who provides her with the drugs, and forging a patient's signature, just to name a few.
A few nurses' associations are taking action, with some publicly calling for Showtime to include a disclaimer at the beginning
of each episode. The chief executive officer of the New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA), Tina Gerardi, MS, RN, CAE,
wrote to Showtime's vice president of Corporate Public Relations, Stuart Zakim, requesting the disclaimer. Gerardi suggested that the disclaimer note that "registered nurses practice according to a strict Code of Ethics that guides
their interactions with patients and colleagues. Nurses are the professionals most trusted by the public because of their
commitment to the highest quality of patient care. The following program is not intended to denigrate the nursing profession
in any way, but rather to explore the human element of a single, fictional character."
Zakim denied the request, according to the NYSNA.
The American Nurses Association has prompted a "call to action," asking its members to send complaint letters to the cable
network, and cited its concerns that the show would "erode the highly valued trust of patients who rely on the expertise of
nurses in healthcare situations."
But at least one viewer and patient advocate—author and professor Suzanne Gordon—notes on her blog that the show has perhaps
received an unfair backlash. She also criticizes the calls for a disclaimer.
She writes that requesting disclaimers "suggests that nurses are naïve. That they are excessively thin-skinned and don't understand
the realities of the TV drama medium." Instead, Gordon indicates that nurses and nursing organizations could make a bigger
impact by penning letters to the editor that explain why Jackie Peyton has a drug problem, why she regularly has to work overtime,
and why the facility where she works is so understaffed.
The half-hour show premiered on June 8 and already has been approved for a second season. It airs Mondays at 10:30 p.m., with
reruns airing throughout the weekdays.
