What To Do About Nursing's Reputation?

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An endless stream of negative press is harming the image of nursing, warns an article in this week’s Nursing Standard.

Media stories about "killer infections, starving patients, and overstretched wards" suggest the profession has lost its way. But in a new series of articles on The State of Nursing, Alison Whyte calls on nursing staff to insist on the best for patients, and for nurses.

She writes: "Nursing’s image has taken a bit of a battering. We have seen appalling care exposed by secret filming, shocking reports of undernourished patients and nurses depicted as feckless, boozy bed-hoppers in a TV sitcom.

"The angels have been thrown from their pedestal and given a pair of horns."

She asks whether patient care has really deteriorated, or whether nurses are simply overstretched and understaffed due to changes in the NHS.

"After a decade that saw nurses’ roles expanding and their status rising, a number of factors began to chip away at their image," Ms Whyte believes. Now, nursing is no longer seen as an attractive career option.

Yvette Wells of the Royal College of nursing says: "Lots of nurses are providing excellent and innovative care in specialist areas. However, we need to become more politically astute. In my view, nurses still have no power."

But she adds: "Some people are not well suited to nursing and I think we need to review the selection process."

The article concludes: "The challenge for nursing leaders is to get across to the public that nurses are neither angels nor devils. Most are highly skilled professionals who want the best possible care for their patients, and need support at all levels when they strive to overcome the barriers to this."

Date: February 14th 2008

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