DROPPING STITCHES OVER NURSE JACKIE AND HawthoRNe

Normally I blog mainly about knitting and neutral events in my life. Knitting is a wonderful way to cope with the daily stressors of our private and professional lives, don't you think? As an RN it sure has given me a means to relax!

Well, now I'm irritated. Enough to blog about it.

I'm not happy with how nursing is depicted in Nurse Jackie and HawthoRNe.


You can read commentary about this by going to this link:

Nurse Jackie/ HawthoRNe

As a nurse, I had been looking forward to the premiers of these two new nurse centered dramas with the hope that the lead characters would admirably represent the nursing profession. Something that has been sadly lacking in the portrayal of nurses by the media. Lots of inaccurate stereotypes. No real examples of the intelligent work that nurse DO in collaboration with physicians and all the other disciplines ( pharmacists, dietitians etc.) that make up a health care team.

What I got instead is that nurses have now graduated from being depicted by the media as wallpaper/handmaidens (ER, Grey's Anatomy) to stoner/wimps (Nurse Jackie, HawthoRNe)

Is this the new normal for nurses?
Is this how I want the public to view the nursing profession?
Professionally, shouldn't we insist that we be represented in the ideal or does that not make for good t.v. drama? What's with this trend toward making healthcare workers deeply flawed, bizarre or morally corrupt?

Sure, who wouldn't want to be a nurse after watching these shows?

Too meek to address your professional conflicts? HawthoRNe to the rescue, flying in on her white lab coat.
Nursing shortage problem solved.
Believe me, my job is hard enough without Mrs. Smith in room 317 thinking I'm snorting her Percocet in the nurses lounge!

The various responses by nurses were mostly unfavorable.
Here is mine:


I'd rather be yelled at by 100 physicians than have one dead patient due to a preventable medical error! That portrayal was a major insult to my profession.
Maybe we DO need one or two shows that present nursing professionals as perfect beings, because that representation on t.v. is long overdue. I'd prefer it to the current farce.

The public needs to see nursing at it's best. Medicine had Marcus Welby MD. It's time for Marcia Welby RN!

You can find me perched on my pedestal. Part of my customer service responsibilities. And my Nightingale Pledge.


Perhaps you've seen the programs and have an opinion. Nurse or health care consumer, go to the link and leave a comment No matter what your opinion, it's important that you be heard.

Now, I have an urge to knit this


Happy knitting!

SO WHERE'S THE KNITTING?

Gentle Knitter,
I have not abandoned my knitting blog, nor my knitting.

Life has just been busy.

Mike converted our computer to Linux and hasn't installed my photo/camera features yet. No photos, just commentary. Sorry.


...I have been knitting-baby bibs and sweaters-must have at least 6 current pregnancies to knit for! I did a fair amount of bib knitting at the Pelham 123 movie last week with son, Shaun. ( Mom, how do you knit in the dark?)

Started a Maggie Jackson wrap from The Gathered Look, book 15, called Alaca that was kitted with the help of Maggie, herself, at Stitches East 2008! Working on it with friend, Roberta. Another perfect companion whilst I knit this is my most recent local library find-Six Feet Under, Season 1. Never watched when it was first run on HBO and don't know why. Very absorbing.

Knit Ballband and scrappy dishcloths and hand towels in between the serious stuff.
Despite owning the latest Mason-Dixon knitting book have not knit one single thing from it yet! Something wrong here.

Organized my Yarn Room to the point where it is so pretty to look at but don't dare open the closet door! Going through binders of downloaded patterns to discard or file. Still need to sift through the storage bags of yarn to decide what to keep, what to donate and what to yard sale. Maybe. It's hard to let go. Have many projects set aside for later dates. Much later. State of yarn inventory has made me seriously curtail any yarn purchases. So goes it too for knitting books. Simply not any more room to contain any new additions to my abundant stash.Nor time to invest in managing all of this stuff. Seriously. Just alone the dishcloth cotton is contained in a large, old trunk, circa Michael's grandfather or great uncle.
I'm certain there are many who feel as I do. Go ahead, dare to admit your yarn gluttony!

Koigu Mitered Squired Jacket is on a Hiatus until-oh-August. And that Mohair color blocked Rambling Rows Cardi that I mooned over for years and years, bought from Stitches East years ago-well it seems I knit about 75 % of it before deciding I absolutely despise the way the large mitered color blocks look! The time of color blocked design has passed, at least for me! At some point I will get into a rippy mood and begin anew with some other sweater concept with this yarn. The colors are beautiful, the yarn itself is a dream. Just not as it was originally intended.

Planted and weeded the veggie garden. Broccoli bolted - Must be all this rain. ISO six new plants of something to replace them. I have tomatoes, peppers, zucchini, squash, cucumbers, eggplant, green beans, swiss chard, mustard greens, collards, and a few strawberry plants. A ground hog the size of a baby bear cub lives under our backyard shed. So far, no garden invasion. I spread collie fur and marigolds around the garden. Like I know what I'm doing!

Church knitting continues in preparation for our November Christmas Bazaar, as well as knitting for the baby charities, and lap robes.

Also have been kicking around the idea to knit for sale on Etsey and with local merchants-we'll see. Have picked several shop names-as would like to set up 3 separate shops featuring baby, adult and household hand knits. A business plan would commit me to knitting for profit and might kill the fun factor of knitting! Would I enjoy making money from doing something I love?It sure would help reduce the yarn stash.

Please feel free to comment on that one, folks!

Things to do:
Mail Squares to Pam of the Ghana Project-have got quite a few from my ladies at Our Lady of Mercy Church. Haven't forgotten you, Pam. Imagine you're on your, what, Trillionth afghan by now! What a dedicated lady!

That's it for now. Feedback on this post greatly appreciated as I've been out of the loop for a while.

Happy knitting!