There are so many bad portrayals of nurses in television and movies, it's hard to know where to start. I love some of these shows though, like Grey's Anatomy, or Nurse Jackie. In Grey's Anatomy, all of the nurses are sleeping with all of the doctor's. The doctor barks, and the nurses jump. One of my "favorites", is when one of the nurses has an STD and a lot of male doctors and nurses have to get tested. In Nurse Jackie, I think nurses are portrayed a little more realistically, but why does nurse Jackie have to be a drug addict? I admit, that on some of those nights that were so busy to the point of almost being dangerous, I have thought about downing a bottle of liquor. I never did though, because I really hate alcohol. There are other ways to show the effect on nurses due to long hours, lack of appreciation, difficult doctors, or lack of staff. A little more patient interaction in these shows, would also help with the image of nurses, they never seem to be doing any actual work, and the doctor's are definitely doing work that we actually do. They are always the hero. Sometimes while I watch these shows, I have to laugh and shake my head it's so unrealistic.

There are many good documentaries that show the history of nursing, that definitely protray nurses in a positive way. I personally love to watch the shows with nurses on the front line, or in the Red Cross. There was a show called "Hawthorne", that starred Jada Pinkett as a director of nursing. It