Normally I am neither one to get on a bandwagon nor to comment on anything negative. Though I hesitated to write this article, I found myself so moved by the response of nurses to a recent broadcast of the television discussion program called “The View” that I felt compelled to write this.
I watched last week’s broadcast of the Miss USA Pageant when Miss Colorado, Kelley Johnson, performed a moving monologue about her nursing experiences with one particular Alzheimer’s patient. It made me so proud.
The following day, the hosts of “The View” made light of Ms. Johnson’s serious presentation despite her achievements in graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Grand View University in Des Moines, being valedictorian of her nursing class and presenting to the pageant her personal platform of “The Health Initiative PLUS: Prevent, Live, Uncover, Study.”
Then a backlash arose against the program from the public, particularly those in nursing, saying Ms. Johnson was courageous in taking a stand for our profession. It was a heart-warming reaction to the ignorance displayed by the TV panel.
Let’s continue to stand for our profession when anyone downplays what we do as nurses. We need to stand up and speak up! As a group of nurses coming together for a common cause, the results can be so powerful!
Nurses have been at the center of attention and in the media recently. As for Kelley, she is the subject matter of articles in People, Forbes and Associations Now magazines as well as E! Online. Also, she appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show and Dr. Oz following her national presentation.
Let’s continue the movement to unite and elevate our powerful voices as nurses in continuing to educate the public on what nurses really do, how nurses are the eyes and ears of the physician and the heart and soul of the hospital. We, the nurses, are the ones who breathe life into the ill and injured to make sure that their hearts are beating.
Greg Mercer, MSN says
To comment on a silly TV show at all puts me in an awkward position, as I typically ignore such pap and recommend the same to others.
Still, these silly talking heads have stumbled themselves into doing nursing a great service. With their thoughtless, clueless, truly dumb comments, they inspired many nurses to stand up for themselves, nurses who have never done so before, at least on line. Corporations have been forced to show nurses very public respect, and all of TV has learned to take us seriously or pay a steep price.
Not bad!