In our discussions of how to “brand” AJN, we on staff have sometimes referred to it as “the journal for the career-minded nurse.” I’ve often wondered who those nurses are. Some might think they’re that small percentage of nurses who go on for advanced degrees (only 13% of nurses, according to one source) or those who move into management positions.
Nursing still needs one united voice to speak on such issues. Maybe this work will help to solidify such a voice. I know that Donna Shalala, the Commission's co-chair, will continue to champion nursing and breaking down the barriers to access to nursing services. I hope organized nursing will not wait for Shalala, but will ask how it can support the IOM's work.
Although residents’ concerns about nurses’ cooperativeness and competence might be seen as professional posturing, still they represent an enduring critique of the nursing profession, particularly as it relates to professionalism and standardized education.
One of the style conundrums that have plagued the editorial staff over the years is what to do with personal pronouns (he, she, her, him, his, hers), especially when we’re referring to nurses. When we’re writing about the nurse in general, the generic nurse, as it were, do we use “she” or “he”? Arguments have been made for both.
I get that this is a TV show and designed for entertainment and that Nurse Jackie is a fictional character. And I’ve worked with nurses who have some of Jackie’s problems, though not all rolled up into one person. But I still find myself wondering if the writers thought that in order to make nurses’ work interesting to others they had to add such extreme behaviors. Aren’t nurses’ stories compelling on their own?