MUSA - Alberta Pharmacy Students' Association

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MUSA find that folks in a similar situation could find resonance with their own experience, and by sharing the specifics of this one story we could find common ground and build community. I was quite nervous showing this piece to people who had been through cancer, thinking that I would be judged. After all, who was I to talk about this? These fears were put to rest after a performance for a small audience when a man in his fifties just came up to me without a word, hugged me and walked away. Throughout this theatrical process it has been my pleasure to talk with many cancer survivors and their families and time and time again I am struck by how folks who have been through something of this nature want to share their experience in order to process it in some way. More and more, we see patients coping with their traumatic experiences by expressing it in artistic ways. People paint, draw, act, sing, talk or choose any number of ways to communicate their experience. There is clearly value in this for patients. I don’t know how to measure it, quantify it or put it in a bottle, but it has 28 been my experience that many of us find it very useful. My wife works in healthcare, and through her, I was fortunate to meet some innovative and creative people at the University Health Network (UHN), Canada’s largest teaching, research and academic hospital. They identified a need for my show to be experienced by other patients and healthcare professionals alike. At UHN, Patient-Centred Care (PCC) is not just a set of words that hang on a plaque by the elevator on a ward; PCC is part of their guiding philosophy to practice. The philosophy encompasses the values of Respect, Human Dignity and Personas-Leader. The staff, which I have come to know and work with in light of our play, saw NormVsCancer as a wonderful vehicle to make clear the values of PCC. From my understanding, the staff at UHN has been engaged in iterations of PCC education over the past eight years. They have reached a crossroads, where the staff is not just hearing second-hand individual patient stories; they are yearning to hear from the patients themselves. Through NormVsCancer, I have been able to understand how to connect with my own healthcare team in way I never imagined. We have been able to stimulate lively and profound discussions with regard to PCC and how it is lived in practice. After each performance, patients and professionals are encouraged to tell their own stories and talk about what it was like for them in their own experience. You can practically hear the professional silos crumble and personal barriers fall, as folks share on a very human level what was for them a significant experience. It is an honour to be part of this process, to share with other patients of similar yet different experience and to be working with such dedicated health professionals who wish to advance PCC from the patient’s perspective. As a patient, these experiences have given me a tremendous amount of hope that we have the ability to make our healthcare system more effective, more caring and more human. How was I to know that my cancer diagnosis nightmare would awaken me to possibilities – to a life now illuminated? A bite into the media’s image of nursing in an apocalyptic world Sherrylynn Kerr, BA Nursing Student (2012), Faculty of Nursing, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada Correspondence to Sherrylynn Kerr Email: skerr@ualberta.ca Abstract In this article, the portrayal of the nurse in popular media is compared and contrasted with that found in professional nursing publications. The current stereotypical image and role of the nurse in contemporary film is described based on the film Dawn of the Dead (2004). 1 Critical thinking skills; professional ethics and values; the autonomous role of nursing; and the image of nursing within specific contexts are all investigated and compared. The often inaccurate portrayal of nurses within popular media still continues to pose challenges to the nursing profession. However, concurrently, there is a trend towards increasing positive images of the nurse, and evidence of this is certainly seen in Dawn of the Dead. The image and role of the professional nurse are commonly portrayed in popular media. These representations impact public perception of the nursing profession. 2 Unfortunately, there are significant differences between these fictitious portrayals of the nurse, and the realistic expectations of the profession outlined in nursing publications. According to Stanley, the current media trend is to represent the nurse in a more positive manner. 3 In analyzing the representation of nursing in the contemporary film, Dawn of the Dead, I have found evidence of such a trend. Through comparing the nurse in the film with professional nurses, I was able to identify some challenges affecting the creation of a positive nursing image. The movie Dawn of the Dead depicts a North American geographical area that has been overrun by zombies, who do not possess higher order thinking. The zombies in the film are preoccupied with attacking individuals who have not yet become zombies. The lead character in the film is a nurse named Ana Clark. Ana and a few other survivors flee to the nearby Cross Roads Mall. Increasing numbers of zombies begin to conglomerate outside the mall, attempting to enter the building and feed on the survivors. Critical Thinking Skills Throughout the film, there are casualties among the survivors in the mall. Some of these survivors incur bites from the zombies. Ana resourcefully sets up a triage center and begins to assess, treat, and comfort the newcomers. As would be expected from a professional nurse, she treats the patients with respect, compassion, and competence. 1 Ana uses critical thinking skills to determine the mechanism of transmission of the zombie infection. Critical thinking can University of Alberta Health Sciences Journal • April 2012 • Volume 7 • Issue 1
e defined as making judgments about a situation using reflection, and integrating analysis, evaluation, and inference with knowledge. According to Profetto-McGrath, critical thinking is a necessary component for the professional nurse to exercise evidence-based practice. 1 Due to the threat of zombies and the characters’ isolation in the mall, it is not possible for Ana to employ evidence-based practice by consulting with experts. Furthermore, there is insufficient time for properly researched evidence to be generated and examined. 5 In the literature reviewing critical thinking skills and evidence based-practice, the professional nurse would ideally have opportunity to access such resources. Nevertheless, in the film, Ana uses the best evidence she has available to her in the given situation to guide her practice. In her triage center, Ana finds that one of her patient’s conditions is deteriorating quickly. She observes and astutely comments that the patient is cold, and that she has never seen such a bad infection without an accompanying fever. Within a couple of minutes, the patient dies. Ana assesses the patient for a pulse, checks the patient’s breathing, and determines that the patient is dead. Ana’s knowledge, assessment skills, and observations in this scene compare to those of a professional nurse. A few moments later, the deceased patient rises and begins to attack Ana. After Ana defends herself and kills her former patient (now a zombie), Ana evaluates the information available, uses inference and previous knowledge of her interactions with the zombies, and determines the mechanism of the zombie infection. She determines that the zombie infection is spread through bites. The critical thinking skills employed by the main character are comparable to those expected of a professional nurse, and are outlined in peer-reviewed nursing literature. Thus, this film portrays the role of the nurse positively, as comparable to roles outlined in professional literature. Professional nursing Values and Ethics The film takes place during a communicable-disease outbreak spread by zombie bites. The Canadian Nursing Association (CNA) states that: “During a natural or human-made disaster, including a communicable disease outbreak, nurses have a duty to provide care using appropriate safety precautions.” 4 Throughout the film, Ana abides by these regulations, using the resources she has available to her. Her actions in this respect are comparable to those expected of a professional nurse according to the CNA. 4 After discovering the mechanism of transmission of the zombie infection in her triage center, Ana tells the group that Frank, one of her fellow survivors, has been bitten and should be quarantined immediately. Another character tells the group he thinks it is too dangerous to keep Frank alive. Our heroine immediately identifies and challenges the ethics of this situation: “What are we talking about here? Are we talking about killing him?” 1 Though this situation is not taking place within a formal nursing environment or practice, it addresses a number of nursing values and ethical responsibilities. Upon review of the Code of Ethics for Registered Nurses, I believe that Ana is encountering an ethical dilemma. Throughout the career of a professional nurse, ethical dilemmas and questions are encountered where the nurse has a difficult choice to make between two equally compelling courses of action. Ana is faced with this situation in the film. If Frank is killed, it will be demoralizing and traumatic, especially for his daughter, who is with him. However, if Frank is not killed, he will most likely become a zombie and attack the remaining survivors. Ana’s character is humanizing for the audience because she reminds us of this ethical dilemma. A professional nurse has specific nursing values and ethical responsibilities to uphold. Of the eight values outlined in the Code of Ethics for Registered Nurses, Ana maintains four values that pertain specifically to this situation: 1) Safe, Compassionate, Competent Ethical Care, 2) Informed Decision Making, 3) Preserving Dignity and 4) Promoting Justice. 4 She provides safe, compassionate, competent and ethical care for all of the survivors—to the best of her ability—within her limited environment. She discusses the ethical dilemma regarding Frank’s zombie bite with Frank and the group, thereby recognizing, respecting and promoting Frank’s right to be informed and to make a decision. She recognizes and respects Frank’s intrinsic worth by reminding the group that he has a daughter who cares for him. And lastly, Ana upholds principles of justice by safeguarding human rights as much as possible within the given situation, and promotes the public good for the group of survivors. autonomous Role of the nurse At the very beginning of the film, the audience is able to see what life is like for Ana before the chaotic zombie infection spreads. Ana interacts with a physician, another health care professional, in the emergency department. The physician dismisses Ana’s statement that it is the end of her shift and asks her to find a patient who has been admitted to the hospital. Here, the audience briefly witnesses the heroine in a subservient role in relation to the physician. This situation relates to the autonomy of the nursing profession. In this particular scene in the film, Ana does not embody the role of an autonomous professional. However, in clinical settings, nurses do not report to physicians, as the film portrays. 1 Nurses report to their supervisor who is usually a nurse, not a doctor. This misperception is an ongoing challenge within popular media sources. As previously discussed, nurses have their own code of ethics as outlined by the CNA. 4 Nursing is a distinct autonomous profession that is regulated and governed by experienced nurses, many of whom hold graduate level degrees. 6 In order to address the discrepancy between the media perception of the autonomy of nursing and the truly autonomous nature of the profession, nurses must advocate for their profession and effectively communicate with members of the media to demonstrate accurate representations, and for pride in the profession of nursing. 2 The image and role of the nurse will continue to evolve in a positive direction when practicing professional nurses are actively involved in a relationship with the media. McNally suggests that these efforts should begin at an undergraduate level. 6 As the film progresses, the audience begins to see that Ana is capable of practicing autonomously, and that she is most certainly not subservient to other characters. Rather, Ana carries a leadership role in many instances throughout the film, such as independently setting up a triage center for those who are injured and encouraging group cohesion to battle attacking zombies. Ana’s autonomous role begins in the film once the zombie catastrophe begins. Context of the Film Overall, the film Dawn of the Dead presents a positive image of the nurse. I do, however, question the context in which this positive image is portrayed. This popular media portrayal of the nurse differs from what is found in the professional nursing literature, as the nurse in this film is acting within a fictional world overrun by zombies. Is the opportunity for the public to view University of Alberta Health Sciences Journal • April 2012 • Volume 7 • Issue 1 29 MUSA
Page 1 and 2: UAHSJ www.uahsj.ualberta.ca ISSN 17
Page 3 and 4: Contents Editorial Commentary OSCE:
Page 5 and 6: University of Alberta Summer Studen
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Page 13 and 14: antipsychotic. Of these patients, 4
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Page 17 and 18: Embryonic Stem Cell Transplantation
Page 19 and 20: 13. Yeh ET, Zhang S, Wu HD, Korblin
Page 21 and 22: Give Me Hope | by Vina Nguyen | Med
Page 23 and 24: creative, and actually produce some
Page 25 and 26: References 1. Brett-MacLean PJ, Cav
Page 27 and 28: The arts and Humanities in Medicine
Page 29: Diverse Classrooms. English Educati
Page 33 and 34: Figure 1. Dr. Albert Ross Tilley. o
Page 35 and 36: therapy were numerous. Tannic acid
Page 37 and 38: he was acknowledged with Canada and
Page 39 and 40: Thank you The UAHSJ wishes to thank

MUSA - Alberta Pharmacy Students' Association

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