Mirror, mirror on the wall: Who is the true nurse after all?
Melanie Jessup
Paediatric Nurse, PhD Candidate, Launceston General Hospital Paediatric Unit, University of Tasmania, TAS
PP: 209 - 215
Abstract
This somewhat colloquial reflection on personal experience reveals some commonly perceived images and metaphors pertaining to nursing that have been birthed in history, perpetuated by the media, and entrenched in the minds of both onlookers and, unfortunately, of those not quite so detached. The reader might identify with some, and be amazed at others, or be provoked on a similar journey of reminiscence and reconsideration of the images that have shaped and informed their practice.
The literature presents the not always positive portrayal of nursing, and the resultant adverse effect this exerts not only upon the profession, but upon its practitioners as well. Thus is set forth the challenge of how to respond.
Keywords
images-nursing; media; literature
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