Close your eyes and think of the images that come to your mind when you read or hear the word “nurse”. What do you see? Who do you see? What are they doing? How are they dressed? What is their ethnicity? Where are they located?
For the past year, because of the COVID pandemic nurses have held a more visible place in popular media. However, nurses have not held a place as experts in healthcare, public health, pandemic response, health research or health knowledge translation. This is not new. In many of the places I work with nurses, we don’t talk about this. Are we the strong but silent type? Or is this the result of a profession that is predominantly women? Who are the nurses who are prominent in the media?
Did you know that I do a podcast with my friend and colleague Claire? It’s a project that we have been working on for almost two years but we put on hold for the last year. It’s a work in progress, that we our hearts in because we want to learn how to be a better resource and support for nurses and also facilitate discussion about topics that mean something to nurses.
Listen to the latest episode. The topic is nurse portrayals in media. Constructive feedback is welcome. Topic ideas are also welcome.
One day we hope to have guests.
Love,
Michelle D.
nursingforsocialjustice 
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