Nurse Jackie Backlash - Weigh In!

Anyone who watches this and says "Oh it's just a show, lighten up", or "People must be able to distinguish reality from fiction", or some other inane nonsense, has not learned anything from history, or the history of television. The reason the media does this continually is to shape society to it's whims and fancies, and too often it succeeds! Want more proof that it does influence society than already exists all around us?! Just goes to show you society's hatred of the male gender. Why don't you just go ahead and exterminate the whole lot of us?!

As someone who grew up wanting to become Nurse Julia, then Nurse Dixie, I watched both Hawthorne and Nurse Jackie and was (sadly) disappointed by both.   I set my expectations for Hawthorne low enough that it did not offend me; however was unrealistic and syrupy enough that it also failed to hold my attention throughout the duration of the pilot.  

 As far as Nurse Jackie goes, I was hoping that Shotime would serve up a sharp and witty dose of 'dirty realism' something that was for the most part respectful and realistic,  but with a decided 'edge'.    Perhaps a charachter that teeters on the brink of the darker side of the perilous path that we sometimes wander down, playing up or frailties, the subtle ironies nursing practice or the dark humor that can only be gained from years of practice.  

  Unfortunately, instead we were given more fodder (dirt) for our critics and not enough realism to hold this insider.  

I watched both Nurse Jackie and HawthornRN. I did not like either....show. Nurse Jackie was disappointing as hopefully an RN with a substance abuse problem would not be working.........HawthornRN was a chief nurse who is all over the hospital. I admit i have not worked in a hospital in a long time, but is there a chief nurse who works like her? I prefer shows that teach me something......these are made for TV and I don't see where they portray what nurses do. I would love to see a show that portrays the various roles nurses have and how effective they are in effecting change and navigating the health care system..... Anne Llewellyn

I would hope that most viewers recognize that Jackie lampoons nurses, in a style similar to Scrubs --- outrageous situations with outrageous solutions. Both shows scratch the surface of some real issues, but in ways that are designed for controversy, discussion and debate. Jackie's world is more realistic that that of Scrubs, but still is a characture.... to quote a classic movie "you couldn't handle the truth".

I'm fairly conservative when it comes to what constitutes professionalism within my field. I busted my butt to get my license and I don't want to do anything that would undermine its significance.

HOWEVER.... with the shortage of nurses today and having to work in high-stress, high-turnover, understaffed and underpaid conditions, it's not uncommon to find nurses who go out and get plastered every night after their shift. Or to have major credit card debt from all of their shopping therapy. Or to have affairs. It's called coping. Maybe not in the healthiest manner possible, but you do what you have to do to get through your next shift.

And yes, I understand the difference between alcohol and narcotics (one is legal when used within reason, the other not so much) - but at the end of the day, if a nurse is abusing either, she (or he) is still impaired. If nothing else, I believe this show is opening the public's eyes to what it's really like to be a nurse - and it sounds like people aren't too happy with what they see.

If you think she's acting inappropriately, maybe it's time for conditions to change for us as nurses. And if it's rubbing you the wrong way, perhaps there's just a little too much truth and honesty in Showtime's work of fiction. I think Jackie is a pretty fantastic nurse, minus the whole affair and drug habit. She's tough, she holds doctors accountable and she fights for her patients.

And those nurses you work with?? The ones who ride on their high horses and throw rocks from ivory towers??? Well just remember.. you only know a person as well as they want you to know them.

I think this show is absolutely appalling. To have a nurse that does drugs, has sex on the job and does unethical things put our profession in jeopardy. People already have negative feelings toward the medical profession in general and this kind of show just furthers that perception. We need positive role models in our profession to have people respect the service we provide. Also young people need positive role models to help them make decisions about what kind of career they might choose.

I saw the "Nurse Jackie" episode and was throughly disgusted. We have worked long and hard to improve the image of nursing and nurses in the publiuc eye, only to be portrayed as adulterous, pill-poping idiots. This show should be banned from TV. Any nurse who can support this image of nursing needs to rethink her role in the profession.

Hawthorne scares me, @ 180 from Nurse Jackie..all sweetness & light..recapping needles?? Please..characters extremely stereotypical.. THUMBS DOWN HAWTHORNE

Nurse Jackie is BRILLIANT!!!  Lighten up already.. this is reality in a distorted TV way. She has the balls to say what others only think..nursing has evolved..snap out of it with old stereotypes. It's a DARK COMEDY & done very well.. Her comment in episode 2 R/T  MD's aren't healers, nurses are, hospitals are in the business of flipping beds & the fact that we care puts us miles ahead of anyone else.. was spot on  BRAVO NURSE JACKIE

Unfortunately, television and movies have poison the minds of many people.  Because of what's portrayed, the public has a hard time discerning reality from fiction. I don't plan to watch any of these shows.  My kids hate to watch anything with me because I have a hard to time suspending belief.  As the adage goes, garbage in then garbage out.  The only bright spot is that shows were actually made about nurse.

I like the show but at the same time the drug abuse aspect of her "Jackie" does bothers me. I do not want the public to see nurses as drug addicts.

The show does not portray her as being an idiot shes a damn good nurse. This is why I will continue to watch. I hope as the show evolves the drug use will decrease. Maybe the writers will put Jackie in rehab haha.

From the first TV "teasers" I wondered what these shows would say about nurses and nursing. When I looked at all the main characters in the medical shows I kept saying to myself how easily the popular doctor characters could just as easily have been nurses. That's because their personal problems, which is actually what made the characters popular, had nothing to do with whether or not they were doctors. That's my take on Nurse Jackie and Hawthorn. The shows are about character development through their personal problems. The thing that will upset me if the writers, producers, directors fail to do them, is to make the nurse main characters powerless in a patient advocacy situation or brainless in a patient clinical situation or narrow in the depiction of all the roles in healthcare in which you are likely to find a nurse. As long as these two shows take care of the latter point, I'll allow them their "drama".

Forgiving

We should forgive some of the excesses of the series as it is after all TV. Many cops must watch the innumerable police shows with some disbelief at the amount of times cops draw their guns etc. But they must also appreciate how those same cop shows  illustrate the problems they face being the “thin blue line”. So let’s debate this from the position of accepting it is exaggerated reality and look at how Nurse Jackie’s humanity comes across .

I saw the first episode and was struck by how Nurse Jackie reminded me of those tough skinned but conscientious and loving nurses  I worked with in New York some years ago.  Jackie is a nurse in a big city with all its attendant social problems and alienation, yet still cuts through all that to show unconditional love for her fellow human beings, which is the essence of all nursing no matter the location or specialty. Maybe it’s Jackie’s flawed personality that fuels her deep empathy for others and willingness to act on their behalf whether or not it means staying within the arbitrary rules of an institution or a system. Jackie is working from a moral code far stronger than any code imposed on her from others, I for one love her for it, we could all show a bit more of her fortitude and advocacy for our patients.

We should have more nurses comments on this show. I found a site dedicated to Nurse Jackie at

www.RNVoices.net

We should all get over there and make a comment as they are going to be running ads during the new Hawthorne show directing people to the site.  I am sure that show and Nurse Jackie’s show producers will be looking at it to see what kind of reaction nurses are having to the show lets show them we are paying attention.

John Brady , RN

Entertaining but appalling example of a nurse...Being a nurse and keeping the public informed about the role of the nurse in health care is difficult enough without another poor fictional nurse, even worse than Nurse Ratchet (One flew over the cuckoo's nest).

Come on guys-couldn't the producers be a little more creative.  Practically mirror imaging House sure took a LOT of brain power.  It would be so nice to see a series depict nurses in their true setting as so many other nurses have outlined in their comments.  It appalled me to see the things so called "Nurse" Jackie do and then come home to 2 such sweet little cherubs who called her "Mom".  I understand TV is NOT reality but I agree a lot of the public will look upon this show as true to life today.  Just look at the litiginous society we live in - the changes in my workplace because of legalities is incredible - I feel this show is just fuel for the fires already burning. Whatever happened to the good old days of just plain CARING for people and them being so grateful for a good, compassionate human being to look up to for their welfare and healing.  Florence would be absolutely heart sick with the depictions of this show.  The producers should have interviewed REAL nurses and then done an ORIGINAL series (not a copy cat one) of all the GOOD nurses do in real life settings in all areas of nursing (hospital, home health etc).  The numerous events that occur from day to day could have produced a wonderful series in the lives of nurses.  Whether it be humor, sadness or just day to day care giving - the series could have been an upbeat compared to some of the garbage that is on TV today.  The producers could have patterened themselves after some of the excellent shows of yesteryear and still have presented the today events of real life.  Sorry, but I feel the producers really missed their mark on this one and they COULD have had a hit series.  I am sadly disappointed - as I really was looking forward to a good show.

We need to remember that TV is all about entertainment, especially the premium cable channels like Showtime.  Edie Falco is excited about portraying a nurse, and one with an addiction.  This allows us to address numerous issues in healthcare--impaired nurses and the programs to keep those nurses employed, the doctor/nurse relationship, the role of nursing students, and the intricate relationships within the hospital setting (her pharmacist boyfriend and his illegal behavior).  We can be proactive and discuss the issues presented on entertainment TV to show reality.  

I haven't watched the show yet! and now I probably never will after reading some of the comments. Nurses have had a difficult time promoting our profession as a PROFESSION- not like the OLDEST PROFESSION. Image is a difficult reality to refute. Many people still consider nurses as the "physicians' handmaid". Through dedication and a strong sense of loyalty and responsibility, nurses have changed the image of nursing from a subservient one to a field of professionals. It has been a long time coming and I have watched the attitude adjustment over my 35 years as a nurse. Why would anyone allow our proud heritage as professionals be degraded into one of sewer rats raping the sense of dignity we worked hard for? We all know nurses who do not feel the obligation to upheld the image,  but they are few and not the norm.

Did they have to go SO over the top? ...she is a likeable character and smart and hard-working, but it is just not even a little bit believable. When she goes home at the end of such an exhausting day to give less than a minute to her kids and cheating on her husband, it just doesn't feel right or funny. And does she have to work 80 hours a week AND take drugs at work AND have sex at work. Come on!...too over the top !!!! btw, I have worked as an RN in a hospital for over 20 years. I did like the medical parts, as unrealistic as they were, they were better than House or Gray's Anatomy by far.

I watched the 2nd episode to give it a chance, and this is why I don't like medical dramas they are fiction, Someone who appears to be the sole support of her family would not jeopardize their financial safety by using and abusing @ work and believe me her coworkers would know and report her..As a picu nurse I knew I was only as strong as the nurse working with me and would have outed Jackie to preserve pt safety, %0d%0aShe threw the nursing student under the bus Way to Mentor.%0d%0aI wish they had really interviewed nurses who could make a funny program without losing the respect of the audience..%0d%0a%0d%0aAlso I watched interviews of the writer/producers and they said I would rather have nurse Jackie take care of me impaired then many sober nurses... Really I wouldn't let her feed my cat and definitely not care for my loved ones..

I won't watch often, one can only take so much foolishness and guilty pleasures. It  could be considered entertaining by some as we humans and will laugh at people doing unwise things as well as genuinely funny ones. It does make me sad but not mad enough to write the producers of this mind/soul numbing show. I've been nursing 30 years this year and I know it is us real life nurses that make 'image', not TV shows.

I won't watch often, one can only take so much foolishness and guilty pleasures. It  could be considered entertaining by some as we humans and will laugh at people doing unwise things as well as genuinely funny ones. It does make me sad but not mad enough to write the producers of this mind/soul numbing show. I've been nursing 30 years this year and I know it is us real life nurses that make 'image', not TV shows.

I won't watch often, one can only take so much foolishness and guilty pleasures. It  could be considered entertaining by some as we humans and will laugh at people doing unwise things as well as genuinely funny ones. It does make me sad but not mad enough to write the producers of this mind/soul numbing show. I've been nursing 30 years this year and I know it is us real life nurses that make 'image', not TV shows.

I won't watch often, one can only take so much foolishness and guilty pleasures. It  could be considered entertaining by some as we humans and will laugh at people doing unwise things as well as genuinely funny ones. It does make me sad but not mad enough to write the producers of this mind/soul numbing show. I've been nursing 30 years this year and I know it is us real life nurses that make 'image', not TV shows.

It is a work of fiction. This show does nothing to alter the opinion of people of the medical industry. Having spent time in the hospital last year and watching my father-in-law be taken care of then and die of a terminal illness - I know a good nurse versus a bad one. There are a lot of bad nurses versus really good ones. Nurses need to clean up their images themselves and not expect a show to do it for them.

I would like to personally say thank you to Nurse Angelise for her compassion and excellent towards my father-in-law.

Nurse Jackie is an interesting series that I look forward to following.  The show makes no excuses for portraying very uncomfortable topics.  And for that I love it.  No not all nurses are drug addicts or have affairs, but what she SAYS about nursing is worth applauding.  

Some of the scenes made me laugh out loud and others cringe.  The whole feeling of the ER is captured very well-quick snippets of scenes with very little follow up, strong emotions, and a constant struggle with ethics-is a regular day in my ER.  Not a shift goes by that I don't feel some strong emotion, either good or bad.  

I am intrigued to seen where this is going.

As a nurse with over 32 yrs experience, if a nurse did half of what Jackie did they would be fired.  I don't see the entertainment factor of this show or House (just as stupid). OMG...nurses and nursing profession have work extremely hard to elevate ourselves and improve the image that the public has, and then another assinine show like this comes on and we are now pushed so far back into the dark ages where we were considered handmaidens for the docs.

Unfortunately the public looks at these shows and porn industry and thinks all nurses are like this.

I will give Jackie credit because she did correctly assess the pt and find the subdural hematoma.  To tell a doc to "stay the    f#%k out of my way" is a case for instant repremand and possible dismissal in many facilities.

I think the tv/movie producers need to actually spend time with nurses and see what actually goes on...then make a show about nurses and how they care for their pts and have to deal with pia docs, administration; and esp the family members that think they know what nursing is all about, tell nurses how to do their jobs, and will report a nurse at the drop of a hat.  That type of show could be done correctly and still be entertaining.

If nurse Jackie is to stay on the air...there MUST be a disclaimer at the begining of the show that says the show is strictly for entertainment purposes only and that real life nurses and nursing is not portrayed in the show.

PS  who has time to leave the ER for lunch at a fancy restraurant wearing scrubs, and have the doctor pay for it...I'm sure it took longer than 30 minutes, and who was watching her patients during that time???????

Being a nursing educator - I'm really battling the "image thing". I teach professionalism....oh my! Might find some of this show to be quite a teaching tool of what is NOT professional!

Check out my website and blog www.suzannegordon.com to see my latest on Nurse Jackie.  And don't write the show off.  The AMA hasn't asked House or Grey's Anatomy for a disclaimer about the outrageous behavior of their TV doctors.  Why?  Because messed up as their personal lives and habits are, these shows portray M.D.s as brilliant at their jobs.  Nurse Jackie is smart, knowledgeable, tough-minded, takes on docs, is compassionate toward her patients and is likable to boot.  No matter what she does, you root for her.  Nurses who ask for the impossible -- disclaimers about Nurse Jackie suggest not that they are media savvy but rather that they are naive and don't understand what TV shows are for.  As a long-time nurse and patient advocate, I think Nurse Jackie is just fine.  It gives nurses a chance to discuss a lot of issues that are relevant to patient care today.  Why does Jackie have a back injury?  Why is she working 80 hours a week?  Because, as we see in the first episode, the head of the hospital staffs routinely by using overtime.  Nurses should jump on Nurse Jackie to see how they can use it to fight for better conditions for nurses.  The show I'm worried about is Hawthorne, which airs next Tuesday.  Keep your eye out for that.

Guess I am too lighthearted...loved the show!  Although Nurse Jackie depicts a nurse that none of could fathom being, I would let her take care of me anytime... This show may certainly sway the ignorant that want to place nurses in that light, however, the majority of the public respect and trust us.  The people that don't respect our profession, despite good or bad publicity, never will no matter what.  They are the same folks that want to keep us in that Nurse Jackie view. So keep doing what we really do best, care for our patients, teach, be an advocate, be professional, care for the families, work long hours, holidays, weekends, overtime, and the list goes on and on..

Wow! Jackie broke every rule in the book, this is not a reality show. I was amused a few times, she did some things we'd like to do, without drugs, but only thought about. She is too complex, don't think I'd like working with her!!

I only happened to watch the last 15 minutes of the show. I do not plan on watching it again. It portrays nursing in a very negative way. I have nursed for 28 years (Diploma RN) and have fought many battles to show nursing as a very positive career for younger people. I think  nurses should boycot this show and actually think we should demand it be removed from TV.

I was amused, intrigued and disappointed at the show's content. Nurse Jackie had some degree of integrity as a nurse but none as a person.  I don't believe they can be separated so easily.  Yes, there needs to be some kind of disclaimer.  People do believe what they see on TV and if seen often enough, whether or not fiction, it will be, eventually, ingrained as a truth.

I am offended & disappointed about "Nurse Jackie's" personal habits/ impairements: snorting drugs, having an affair (in a med storage room) & flushing body parts down a toliet.  Surveys continue to demonstrate that the average American citizen bases their percetions & expectations of healthcare/nurses/trauma centers on TV!  

PLUS! Who is she teamworking with? Where are her colleagues, has she started an IV,given lifesaving drugs,demonstrated any critical thinking...she LEAVES the ED to go out to lunch? I am further annoyed by the fact that she is wearing the same color scrubs my institutation is enforcing their RNs to wear. Gimme a break, she just drops her wedding ring into her pocket? Every  bedside nurse knows rings must be saftey pinned to their uniform or it will come flying out with the IV catheters during a critical moment.

Let's see Jackie be part of a resusitation, perform critical thinking, be a role model.

Kim

PS Jackie and producers: are you donating any money towards malaria prevention, sickle cell disease or domestic violence? Jackie, are you on any emergency deployment nurse teams? organizations?

The producers are right, life is full of a lot of little pricks!

While almost everything Nurse Jackie did and said made me cringe, she did correctly diagnosis the subdural & did more of an assessment than the physician bothered to do.

Wow, what a plus this show will be to advance our profession. I guess we can add drug snorting, adultery, falsifying medical records, improperly disposing of body parts and profanity to our fantasy porn star reputation. Entertainment? No, I am not amused.

I think it is for entertainment, like "House" and hope the public recognizes that.  I think it is perceived more difficult to separate truth from fiction with the current entertainment industry offerings. It may bring more focus to the shortage and conditions in some work environments.  However, a professional, honest, empathetic, and respectful Nurse will always prevail.

I have worked in various dept. in hospitals and in the community. As a nurse I see the entertainment value of this series. It is similiar to House which is an unrealistic hosptial drama but is entertaining. BUT for the average person watching Nurse JackieI don't think they could differentiate between TV drama and realistic scenerios. I agree that there should be a disclaimer at the start of this show. Ethical RN's do not behave this way.

I think having a drug using promiscuous person represent us to stand up to others is an insult to Nurses and our profession.    We all would like to have some moxie but the way we are portrayed is not acceptable.  I was saddened when at the end of the shift she goes home to her unsuspecting husband and little girls.

Don't you wish for one minute you too could do most of those things (except for snorting drugs!)

We all loved the irreverance of St. Elsewhere and ER-give Jackie a chance.