Saving Lives

Why the Media's Portrayal of Nursing Puts Us All at Risk

By: Sandy Summers, Harry Jacobs Summers

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Paperback | 15 October 2014 | Edition Number 2

At a Glance

Paperback
360 Pages

Dimensions(cm)
23.39 x 15.6 x 2.31

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For millions of people worldwide, nurses are the difference between life and death, self-sufficiency and dependency, hope and despair. But a lack of understanding of what nurses really do -- one perpetuated by popular media's portrayal of nurses as simplistic archetypes -- has devalued the profession and contributed to a global shortage that constitutes a public health crisis. Today, the thin ranks of the nursing workforce contribute to countless preventable deaths.

This fully updated and expanded edition of Saving Lives highlights the essential roles nurses play in contemporary health care and how this role is marginalized by contemporary culture. Through engaging prose and examples drawn from television, advertising, and news coverage, the authors detail the media's role in reinforcing stereotypes that fuel the nursing shortage and devalue a highly educated sector of the contemporary workforce. Perhaps most important, the authors provide a wealth of ideas to help reinvigorate the nursing field and correct this imbalance.

As American health care undergoes its greatest overhaul in decades, the practical role of nurses -- that as autonomous, highly skilled practitioners -- has never been more important. Accordingly, Saving Lives addresses both the sources of, and prescription for, misperceptions surrounding contemporary nursing.

Industry Reviews

Recipient of the American Journal of Nursing 2015 Book of the Year Award in the following subcategories: Consumer Health and History and Public Policy. "SAVING LIVES has a serious point, that the devaluation of nursing -- both by overlooking nurses' contributions to positive outcomes for patients, and more subtly by emphasizing their devotion, compassion and self-sacrifice over their lifesaving skills -- discourages students from the field and contributes to a critical nursing shortage." --Newsweek "An important book because it so clearly delineates how ubiquitous negative portrayals of nursing are in today's media, particularly three common stereotypes of nurses -- the 'Naughty Nurse,' the 'Angel' and the 'Battle Axe.'" --New York Times "Invoking stereotypes about nurses is easy, sloppy, and all too common. Summers and Summers challenge us to imagine a world where nursing is fully recognized, funded, and supported. Saving Lives is a media activism roadmap crucial for reaching this destination." --MarySue V. Heilemann, PhD, RN, Associate Professor, UCLA School of Nursing "Saving Lives explains in painstaking detail how our society's chronic trivialization of nursing as a profession diminishes the quality of health care for all patients, creating ripple effects with sometimes dire consequences. This book should incite a demand for a cultural shift in which nurses are valued as the indispensable and highly-trained health care professionals they are." --Claire M. Fagin, PhD, RN, Dean Emerita, Professor Emerita, University of Pennsylvania Featured in Doody's Life Sciences Book Review "A valuable resource for nursing students and professionals." -- Choice

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