[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQRLyChM5Gw]
We’ve already posted about Showtime’s controversial new drama, Nurse Jackie. When it rains it pours: Hawthorne, TNT’s new series starring Jada Pinkett Smith as a chief nursing officer, starts tonight (click the above image for a look at the first episode preview) and is already getting attention from nurse bloggers, like Kim over at Emergiblog. People are sure to pit Edie Falco’s Jackie character against Smith’s Hawthorne character. So let us know: is there anything to be gained from comparing the nurse characters in the two shows, or do they exist in parallel TV universes that could never collide?
I read an interview with Jada’s mom, and she seems to think that Jada is doing little wrong. For not being a nurse, it is a decent job, in my opinion. As far as comparing the shows, I don’t think that it is fitting. The shows focus on different aspects of nursing.
I prefered Nurse Jackie to Hawthorne, although not sure that either will help the image of nurses. I don’t agree that they show Nurse Jackie as a drug using nurse, but we all know that this is a reality in some nurses and it makes for better entertainment, but it doesn’t help us “clean” nurses. At least Nurse Jackie has her patients intrests as her priority, even though she may steal, forge, or manipulate to get what it is they need. These show’s will hopefully show how demanding our roles are, how we trully are the ones at bedside saving patients lives with our vigilance and care, and not the over sexed doctors that are portrayed on other Medical dramas. We provide superior care and comfort to our patients and if one of these shows can show that then kudos to them!
It’s about time for a show about a nurse. Nurse Jackie so complex and the show is so funny and dark. The fact that the character is flawed does not take away from the point of view of the show that nursing is an incredibly noble profession.
Thanks for the mention! This should be interesting. AND there is a THIRD nurse-centered show coming to NBC in September (I think it is called “Mercy”).
When it rains it pours!
I heard an interview from Jada and she said that her mother is/was an RN so I am hoping she will keep it real and tell the writers when they are off and when they have lost us who have seen the examples daily and can tell the stories.
I’ll watch when they stop referring to these shows as “medical dramas”