Today, the media has a great influence on the image of nursing. The public’s image of nursing is predominantly based on misconceptions and stereotypes, which distorts images of nurses in the media (Ten, Jansen & Roodbol, 2014, p.4). For instance, popular television shows, such as Grey’s Anatomy, House and ER, are where these …show more content…
We need to teach nursing students professionalism as well as teach qualities of a role model to promote a positive image. In the article “How the Media Influences Perceptions of Nursing,” twenty- three percent of nurses are seen by the public as professional (Wood, 2010, para. 3). The way nurses perform their responsibilities gives a sense of their professionalism. It’s the nurses’ responsibility to perform their roles in order to provide patients with the best quality of care, giving them a positive perception of nursing. Nurses should strive to create a positive image because they want to project a sense of confidence to patients and healthcare providers. In addition, it is important for the public to view nurses as competent, educated critical thinkers who want to provide the best quality of care. As a result, patients will feel respected as well as confident of the treatment he/she will receive from the nurse. Even more, healthcare professionals will be able to trust that the nurse will perform their tasks to the best of his/her ability. Additionally, nursing programs should provide courses that incorporate that positive image of nursing. These courses should not only teach students about demonstrating professionalism, but show what a positive role model looks like in nursing. Demonstrating a positive nursing role model teaches students how caring patients with positive attitude can provide them with the best quality of care. Nurses have many responsibilities and roles other than to follow physician’s orders. Nurses provide care and comfort for patients in all health care settings. Although nurses are caregivers, they also take roles as advocates, educators and communicators and managers (Potter & Perry, 2013,