Press coverage of the Center for Nursing Advocacy

Nursezone on television portrayals of nurses

August 2008 -- Glenna Murdock wrote "Television Portrayals of Nurses are Damaging the Profession" for NurseZone and the article is published on NurseConnect.com.

Newsday covers Center Halloween campaign

October 14, 2007 -- Newsday columnist Ellis Henican quickly covered the Center's campaign to encourage an end to the use of the naughty nurse Halloween costume. see the article...(scroll down)

"Medical TV isn’t always right"

September 20, 2007 -- Today MSNBC reprinted a Forbes article by Allison Van Dusen, "Playing doctor: Medical TV isn’t always right: Viewers often get wrong ideas, but shows do impart some info, experts say." The piece discussed the overall accuracy of popular health-related dramas. It included several comments from Center executive director Sandy Summers about the shows' failure to portray nursing accurately. Our reported comments addressed the common depiction of physicians doing things nurses really do, including managing nurses. The piece also included our point that nurse characters tend to absorb abuse from physicians like House with no apparent ability to respond, reinforcing the image of nurses as meek servants--an unusual point for the mainstream media to put forward. Some of this material appeared in 2 of the 8 photos accompanying the article. We thank Allison Van Dusen for this article. see the article...

Nurses in Motion: "Fighting De-Nursification"

July 18, 2007 -- Barbara Ficarra's Internet video program "Nurses in Motion" recently featured an extended interview with Center director Sandy Summers, RN, MSN, MPH. Summers and Ficarra discussed the causes and effects of the poor public understanding of nursing, especially as seen in the mass media. Summers argued that nurses' inaccurate public image is a key factor in the critical nursing shortage, affecting the level of resources directed to nursing practice, education and research. She also addressed barriers nurses face in speaking up about their work and its value. watch the video... Also check out the entire "Nurses in Motion" series, which includes an interview with Center advisory panel member Diana J. Mason, RN, PhD, editor-in-chief of the American Journal of Nursing, and another with new board member Edie Brous, RN, JD. Both nurses discuss the nursing crisis, including the role played by the media.

KGO interviews Center director

May 30, 2007 -- KGO radio in San Francisco, which covers a large part of the Western U.S., hosted a five-minute segment on the nursing shortage. The show invited executive director Sandy Summers to dicuss causes of and solutions to the shortage at about 6:45 am PDT.

"An image problem, from TV to silver screen"

May 6, 2007 -- Bob Groves from the New Jersey Bergen Record, published an excellent article "An image problem, from TV to silver screen" about nursing portrayals in the media. The article featured many positive quotes from the Center's director. See the article...

Shock Trauma nurses honored for clinical hotness!

April 25, 2007 -- Today's Baltimore Sun featured a column by Laura Vozzella about a poll taken by Baltimore City firefighters on thewatchdesk.com that asked which local hospital had the "hottest" nurses. Vozzella's bemused piece suggests that this is a curious way for at least 146 responding firefighters to be spending their time, given that the department has recently been criticized for a fatal training exercise and that unions are calling for its chief to resign. But she also explains why nurses might have a problem with the poll's implied suggestion that they are all about sexiness, relying heavily on comment from Center executive director Sandy Summers. We thank Laura Vozzella for the column. more...

"Doctored reality"

March 13, 2007 -- Today The Patriot-News (Harrisburg, PA) ran a good piece by reporter Pat Carroll about the damaging misportrayal of nursing on Fox's "House" and other popular U.S. television shows. The article "Doctored reality: Nurses chart complaints of marginalization on TV" focuses on the common Hollywood depiction of a "pack of doctors engaging in patient care with no nurses in sight." The piece gets expert comment from several Pennsylvania nurses, and also relies on extensive input from the Center and its executive director Sandy Summers. more...

The real story

March 5, 2007 -- Check out a good article in today's Salem News (MA) about the flawed depiction of health care on popular U.S. television shows like ABC's "Grey's Anatomy." Julie Kirkwood's piece focuses on nurses' arguments that such shows can distort the public's view of health care and health workers, with negative effects on the real world. The story aims to debunk some of the key "myths" such shows present, and it includes extensive comment from Center executive director Sandy Summers about how the shows undervalue nursing care. The piece is "As seen on TV: Real-life health care workers say medical shows aren't telling the real story."

The Star-Ledger: "Nurses urge TV dramas: Get real"

January 28, 2007 -- On January 11, the New Jersey Star-Ledger published an excellent piece by Carol Ann Campbell on Hollywood's treatment of nursing. The article is headlined "Nurses urge TV dramas: Get real; Portrayals deceive public, groups say." The substantial piece features extensive comment from nurses (including Center executive director Sandy Summers) who explain how popular U.S. television dramas regularly show physicians doing important work that nurses really do, while nurses are shown as peripheral subordinates, when they appear at all. As the piece notes, this widespread undervaluation is a factor in the critical nursing shortage. We thank Ms. Campbell and the Star-Ledger for this piece, which stands in stark contrast to a slew of recent articles in the major print media that explore Hollywood's "medical accuracy" but completely ignore nursing. more...

The piece was reprinted in the Birmingham News on January 15, 2007.

Heart Attack Grill coverage

May 2, 2007 -- Our campaign to convince the Heart Attack Grill in Tempe, Arizona, to discontinue its use of "naughty nurse" waitress uniforms has received international press coverage.

CNN's Headline News covered the story on Nov. 9. The CNN piece was a rebroadcast of the story done on the ABC News 15 (Phoenix), which ran on October 27, 2006. See the CNN clip in Quicktime hi-band or low-band and Windows media hi-band or low-band. Also see the East Valley Tribune (Arizona) article on this issue by Nicole Beyer entitled "Pretend nurses in skimpy outfits raise ire."

On Dec. 8, 2006, an Associated Press story by Amanda Lee Myers was printed in countless newspapers across the globe including the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Times of India, the Taipei Times and Canada.com.

The story was covered on the ABC News television show 20/20 with John Stossel on November 17, 2006 (article or film clip).

It was covered on Geraldo-at-Large on December 18, 2006. See the clip in Quicktime (broadband or dial-up); or Windows Media Player (broadband or dial-up).

The Baltimore Sun covered the article Nov. 16, 2006. Versions of the Baltimore Sun story have also run in major newspapers nationwide, including Dallas-Fort Worth's Star Telegram and Bloomington, Indiana's Herald Times on Nov. 18, 2006; the Miami Herald, the Olympian (Washington state) and the Knoxville News Sentinel on Nov. 19; the Raleigh, Durham & Chapel Hill News & Observer on Nov. 20; the Myrtle Beach, South Carolina Sun News, the Tacoma, Washington News Tribune and the Nashua (New Hampshire) Telegraph on Nov. 23; and the Los Angeles Times and the Chicago Tribune on Nov. 24, 2006.

NBC 12 (Phoenix) News covered the story on Oct. 30, 2006 in the piece "Scantily-clad waitresses in Tempe raise concerns" by Syleste Rodriguez, or in footage: Quicktime high or low; Windows Media high or low.

The Center's executive director was featured on the Chip Franklin show on WBAL radio (Baltimore) Nov. 16, 2006. KFYI news radio had Sandy Summers, the Center's executive director as a guest on the Joe Crummy show for an hour on Dec. 11, 2006. She also appeared on a KIRO talk radio news show in Seattle on Dec. 8, 2006 for 30 minutes. The Free-Market News Network covered the story on Nov. 13, 2006. It was covered by the Arizona Republic on Nov. 30, 2006.

The Arizona State University Web Devil covered the story on March 8, 2007. The Washington Times reported on it on May 2, 2007.

"Close to Home" comic press coverage

December 19, 2006 -- Charles Fiegl of the Glens Falls Post-Star (NY) covered our reaction to the "Close to Home" comic which featured "hot" nurses. See the article. It was reprinted in the Universal Press Syndicate, also covered in Editor & Publisher on Dec. 19 and on WSYR Channel 9, ABC affiliate in Syracuse.

Nursing Uniform coverage

December 5, 2006 -- The Island Packet in Hilton Head, South Carolina, featured quotes from Center director Sandy Summers in an article on the professionalism of nursing uniforms. It was also reprinted in South Carolina's main paper The State.

The Nobel Prize in Nursing

December 8, 2006 -- Today The Baltimore Sun published "Nurses' achievements merit international recognition," an op-ed by Columbia University nursing professor Kristine Gebbie and Center for Nursing Advocacy executive director Sandy Summers. The op-ed argues that nurses deserve a Nobel Prize or comparable annual award because their leaders have long been at the forefront of health research and clinical practice. They have changed the world by reinventing health systems, pioneering new therapies, and improving community health, from AIDS treatment to neonatal care to pain management. Establishing such a prize would shine a light on the profession's life-saving achievements. It would also help show how important it is that nursing get the clinical and educational resources it needs to overcome the global nursing shortage. The publication of this piece is the culmination of significant effort by the Center. We thank The Baltimore Sun for its openness to new ideas on nursing, and its commitment to publishing the op-ed. And we urge you to read it, think about it, and show it to others. Thank you! See the op-ed.

Jack White and White Stripes coverage

April 30, 2006 -- Today The Los Angeles Times covered the exchange of mock awards between the Center and Jack White, of the band White Stripes, with the piece "A Stripe nursing a grudge?" And Salon covered it on April 26, 2006 with "Jack White in slap fight with nurses."

Golden Lamp Awards 2005 coverage

January 2005 -- The Center's Golden Lamp Awards, issued late last month, are being covered widely in the mainstream and nursing media. In addition to the publication of Award highlights in the January issue of the American Journal of Nursing, which partnered with us to release the awards, there have been several prominent national press stories so far. An Internet Broadcasting Systems story with the headline "Popular Hospital Shows Panned By Nurses Group" ran on the web sites of at least 30 US network television affiliates last week. The New York Post's Michael Starr featured the awards in his December 29 "Starr Report" entertainment column under the headline "Bad Medicine?" On January 4, All Headline News ran a short piece about the awards by Christina Ficara with the headline "Nursing Profession Unhappy with Media Portrayal." And on January 12, the influential newspaper industry publication Editor & Publisher ran an article about the Awards by Nekoro Gomes headlined "Print Press Receives Clean Bill of Health From Nursing Advocacy Groups." That headline, of course, is not an accurate summary of the Center's view of print press coverage of nursing. Though we said that most of the best portrayals we saw were in the print press, many of the worst were also. In fact, the print press frequently publishes pieces that ignore or marginalize nursing. But the text of the Editor & Publisher story does discuss the specific awards in some detail, and in general we're happy for the coverage. The January 23, 2006 issue if US Weekly covered the awards in its article entitled "Hollywood's Hottest Feuds!: Ding, ding! Wrestling legend Hulk Hogan weighs in on the latest round of star smackdowns." One of the three feuds in the one-page article was: "Nurses vs. Grey's Anatomy," which read in its entirety:

Florence Nightingales called out ABC's hit for depicting RNs as "fawning or bitter losers with no significant role in hospital care," reads a Center for Nursing Advocacy release. The group also complains that the show "makes a point of attacking the profession, relentlessly." WINNER IS: Grey's. "Lighten up," Hogan says. "Nurses should focus on patients, [not] some TV show."

Advance for Nurses also covered the awards.

Salome Magazine: "Nothing Beats Cold Hard Steel": Grey's Anatomy's Depiction of Nurses

November 28, 2005 -- This week Salome Magazine's Lucy O'Donnell explores how the "destructive and elitist form of feminism" portrayed on "Grey's Anatomy" acts to degrade the "women's work" of nursing. Ms. O'Donnell goes on: "Instead of uniting and encouraging all women, Grey's Anatomy seems to encourage the distinct hierarchy of the medical field. This new feminist approach portrayed on television is only successful by disparaging another whole set of women." Click here to see the article.

Nevada RNformation profiles Center's work

November 2005 -- Lily Gonzalez discusses the real-life impact of negative media coverage of nursing in this month's edition of Nevada's RNformation. Click here to see the article (pdf).

The American Journal of Maternal/Child Nursing editorial

September/October 2005 -- The editor of the American Journal of Maternal/Child Nursing, Margaret Comerford Freda, EdD, RN, CHES, FAAN, wrote a flattering editorial about the Center's work entitled "Another Hero for All of Us." See the editorial...

Medical students attack nurses

July 14, 2005 -- The Edmonton Journal did an article on the controversy surrounding the University of Alberta's Medshow where medical students sang the "Nurses' Song" that featured nurses as "whores" and "bitches" whose "incompetence" threatened to "make our patients die," but that they were qualified to "fill up my coffeepot" and "give good head." The refrain urged nurses to "show me those boobs." Click here to see the article.

"Telling it like it is."

April 2005 -- Journal of Neuroscience Nursing editor Chris Stewart-Amidei did her monthly editorial on nursing media images, why they matter and how nurses can work together to change the coverage. The Center's influence was prominently featured. Click here to see the article.

"Stop Griping and Take Action"

April 11, 2005 -- Terri Polick covers our JibJab campaign, that features President Clinton groping two nurses, in a Nursing Spectrum article. Click here to see the article.

Women's eNews commentator highlights nursing shortage...in the media

March 30, 2005 -- Today the Women's eNews web site posted a very good commentary by Sheila Gibbons about the low visibility of nurses' work in the media, apart from stories about the nursing shortage. The piece explains why the news and entertainment media's treatment of nurses matters, and suggests that more attention to nurses' real contributions is a key part of overcoming the current nursing crisis. more...

Johns Hopkins Magazine covers the Center

February 2005 -- Johns Hopkins Magazine, which covers its University events, ran an alumni news story on the Center and our work. See the article in html or pdf.

Advance for Nurses covers the Center's work

January 31, 2005 -- Advance for Nurses' Kay Bensing, RN, MA, discusses the importance of the Center's work in a new article entitled Web Site Alert: Make the Center for Nursing Advocacy a must-view site.

Center's director discusses year-end awards on WBAI's "Health Styles"

February 18, 2005 -- Today, the Center's executive director Sandy Summers discussed the Center's 2004 year-end ten best and ten worst Golden Lamp awards on WBAI radio's Health Styles program, hosted by American Journal of Nursing editor Diana Mason, R.N., Ph.D., FAAN, based in New York City. see WBAI's web site...

Nursing Spectrum encourages nurses to join Center's work in editorial

January 17, 2005 -- In her editorial, Wendy Bonifazi, RN, CLS, APR, encouraged nurses to join the Center's advocacy campaigns as a New Year's resolution in this issue of Nursing Spectrum. See the article: An After-Holiday Nursing Wish List.

Skechers campaign coverage receives worldwide coverage

October 12, 2004 -- There has been a sudden worldwide resurgence in the past week of media coverage of nurses' successful campaign to persuade Skechers to end their use of the Christina Aguilera nurse ad. We are aware of new coverage of the campaign in media outlets from the following nations: United States (including MSNBC, The New York Post, and the Kidd Kraddick syndicated radio show); the United Kingdom (including the BBC and the Sun); Ireland; Germany; [other European], and Mexico. Most of these pieces feature a brief statement of the Center's objections to the ad, often including a quote from Center director Sandy Summers noting that the ad embodied both the naughty nurse and battleaxe stereotypes that have long held the profession back. See our full news coverage on our Skechers campaign.

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: "Nursing advocate bringing message of profession's value here."

October 12, 2004 -- Health editor Virginia Linn profiles the Center and outlines some basic aspects of the Center's work, with a focus on recent campaigns protesting harmful media images such as the Skechers Christina Aguilera ad and a "Jeopardy!" question that "hit nurses like a wet snowball in the face." more...

Working World covers the Center

Christine Contillo covers the Center's work in an article about how nurses can work collectively to improve nursing's media image. Click here to see the article.

Nurseweek interviews the Center's director

September 20, 2004 -- Bree LeMaire, RN, MS, interviewed the Center's executive director in a piece entitled "5 Minutes with Sandy Summers" in this week's issue of Nurseweek. see the article

Nursezone profiles the Center

June 2004 -- Nursezone writer Debra Wood covered the Center and our work in an article entitled "Center for Nursing Advocacy Aims to Improve Profession's Media Image" featured on Nursezone's news pages. see the article

AJN editorial urges support for the Center

May 2004 -- In the main editorial in this month's American Journal of Nursing, nursing leaders Claire Fagin, PhD, RN, FAAN, Pam Maraldo, PhD, RN, FAAN and AJN editor-in-chief Diana Mason, PhD, RN, FAAN (all members of the Center's advisory panel) called on readers to celebrate Nurses Week by supporting the Center. The editorial explained in detail how Nurses of America, a project spearheaded by Drs. Fagin and Maraldo in the late 1980's and early 1990's, pursued diverse strategies to improve media coverage of nurses and had a real impact on public understanding of the profession. The editorial argued that nurses today, in the midst of a shortage that has become a "major public health crisis," must likewise "sustain a collective effort to shape media portrayals of nursing." see the editorial

"Passions" soap opera campaign media coverage

February 7, 2004 -- The Center has received press coverage on our campaign to end the use of the monkey nurse on the soap opera "Passions." The story was covered in the TV Guide in February 2004 and December 2003, and in the New York Post in December 2003. See our full press coverage on the "Passions" campaign.

American Journal of Nursing publishes the Center's "Viewpoint"

February 2004 -- The American Journal of Nursing published an op-ed on our "ER" campaign in this month's issue. The piece was written by executive director Sandy Summers and senior advisor Harry Jacobs Summers. see the op-ed

New York State Nurses Association profiles the Center

February 2004 -- Diane Pineiro-Zucker, the Assistant Director of Communications & Public Relations for the New York State Nurses Association profiled the Center for the February edition of the NYSNA monthly report. see the profile

"ER" Campaign receives international press coverage

February 2004 -- Our campaign to convince "ER" to portray nurses more accurately has sparked press coverage around the world. A Washington Post article sparked much of the press coverage. It was also covered by Agence France Presse, in Italy, the UK, Canada, Australia, Spain and many others. Our full "ER" press coverage is below.

American Journal of Nursing publishes the Center's "Viewpoint"

February 2004 -- The American Journal of Nursing published an op-ed on our "ER" campaign in this month's issue. The piece was written by executive director Sandy Summers and senior advisor Harry Jacobs Summers. see the op-ed

Center's "ER" campaign earns extensive press coverage in print and broadcast outlets

December 30, 2003 -- Following the Center's distribution of a press release on November 10, numerous print and broadcast outlets have covered our campaign to persuade the NBC show "ER" to portray nursing more fairly. click here for updates ...

"ER" campaign is a Star

December 16, 2003 -- This week's issue of the Hollywood tabloid "Star" ("NOBODY KNOWS THE STARS LIKE THE STAR!") has a brief, somewhat ambiguous item about the Center's "ER" campaign in its "It's been a good week for...It's been a bad week for..." feature. more...

Agence France Presse reports on Center's "ER" campaign

December 04, 2003 -- Today the Agence France Presse reported on the Center's campaign to convince ER to portray nursing more accurately. more...

"ER" campaign hits Italian press

December 1, 2003 -- Today Italy's TV Sorrisi e Canzoni ran a piece by Antonio Mustara about issues facing "ER" in its tenth season, including the Center's campaign to persuade the show's producers to portray nursing more accurately. more...

Chicago Tribune: "'ER' nurses 'handmaidens?'"

November 30, 2003 -- Today the Chicago Tribune ran a short but very fair article by its television reporter Allan Johnson about the Center's "ER" campaign. more...

British Medical Journal highlights "ER" campaign

November 29, 2003 -- This week's issue of the British Medical Journal has a substantial article by Jeanne Lenzer about the Center's "ER" campaign. more...

Spanish-speaking nations' press covers Center's "Urgencias" campaign

November 25, 2003 -- The Center's "ER" campaign has been the subject of recent articles in prominent newspapers in Spanish-speaking nations, specifically Spain's El Mundo and Venezuela's Clarín. more...

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette runs article on "ER" campaign alongside excerpts from Center's film and TV reviews

November 25, 2003 -- Today the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette ran an abridged version of Sandra Boodman's November 18 Washington Post article about the Center's "ER" campaign and a huge sidebar with excerpts from some of the Center's movie and television reviews. more...

Globe and Mail covers "ER" protests by Canadian blindness group and the Center

November 22, 2003 -- Today Canada's Globe and Mail ran an article by Guy Dixon that was primarily about the Canadian Institute for the Blind's protest of the November 13 "ER" episode, but that also reported on the Center's campaign about the show's portrayal of nursing. more...

Sydney Morning Herald reports on Center's "ER" campaign, situation for Australian nurses

November 20, 2003 -- Today's Sydney Morning Herald carried a piece by David Dale, "Maybe it's something about the uniform...," which discussed the Center's campaign to persuade "ER" to portray nurses accurately and the extent to which Australian nurses confront poor images in the media. more...

HealthDay summary on "ER" campaign appears on many health information sites in U.S. and Switzerland

November 20, 2003 -- A summary created by the widely distributed HealthDay news service about the November 18 Washington Post story on the "ER" campaign has appeared on many health information web sites, including the U. S. government's Healthfinder site, numerous U.S. press sites, and the Swiss Health on the Net Foundation site. more...

Roanoke Times editorial misstates basis of "ER" campaign, then attacks it

November 19, 2003 -- Today the Roanoke Times dismissed the Center's campaign to persuade "ER" to portray nursing more fairly in an editorial that appeared to be based on a misunderstanding of the previous day's Washington Post article about the campaign. more....

Washington Post highlights Center's "ER" campaign

November 18, 2003 -- Today's Washington Post ran a lengthy, very good piece by Sandra G. Boodman, "Nursing a Lousy Image--RNs Blame Crisis on TV's 'ER,'" as one of the lead articles on the front page of its weekly Health section. more...

Pasadena Star News: Center's "ER" campaign and new California staffing law

November 17, 2003 -- Today the Pasadena Star News published a good article by Michelle Rester, "Nurses want more accurate portrayal on 'ER' TV show," which reports on the Center's letter-writing campaign and related efforts by a Pasadena nurse to improve the profession. more...

New Zealand Nursing Review profiles the Center

September 2003 -- Fiona Cassie's long profile of the Center for the New Zealand Nursing Review appeared this month. It also featured the Center's Kiwi board member Anita Bamford, RN, MA, PhD (candidate), who led the charge in early 2003 to stop Lion Red's use of "nurses" for their beer advertisements. more...

Nursing Spectrum profiles Center

August 11, 2003 -- Today's issue of Nursing Spectrum featured a lengthy article about the Center for Nursing Advocacy and its work to improve the image of nursing. See the article.

Center's director appears live on WBAI radio's award-winning "Health Styles"

August 1, 2003 -- The Center's executive director Sandy Summers discussed the Center's work today on New York City radio station WBAI's Health Styles program, hosted by American Journal of Nursing editor Diana Mason, R.N., Ph.D., FAAN, today between 1:00 and 2:00 p.m. EST. more...

American Journal of Nursing profiles Center

May 2003 -- This month's issue of the American Journal of Nursing, the official journal of the American Nurses Association, includes a full-page profile of The Center for Nursing Advocacy and its work to improve the media's treatment of nurses. more...

Please contact The Center for Nursing Advocacy if we can help you answer any questions.