How Nurses Are Portrayed In American And Turkish Movies

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of the study was to describe how nursing and nurses are portrayed in American and Turkish movies. Methods: First of all, we examined the films with the keywords nurse and nursing. The majority of the films were produced in the United States. Turkish film industry produced only six films between 1968 and 2020. Three movies from the United States (English Patient, Nurse Betty, Meet the Parents) and three movies from Turkey (Beautiful Coffee Server, Imperator, Brought by the Sea) with at least one nurse character with a significant part were covered. Thematic qualitative method was used to analyze the movies’ content. Results: All nurses, except one, were female, white, young, single, and childless. In “English Patient”, the nurse is portrayed mainly as a self-sacrificing character. In “Nurse Betty”, nursing is seen as a profession that can be done without education. “Meet the Parents” draws attention to common stereotypes about male nurses. In “Beautiful Coffee Server”, the nurse character is typically reduced to a supporting role, enforcing the message to the viewer that nurses were not really needed in healthcare. “Imperator” emphasizes the nurse’s sexual attractiveness and behavior rather than her professional work. And finally, in “Brought by the Sea”, portrayal of nurse creates a potent favorable image of nursing. Conclusion: Study findings show that movies, except “Brought by the Sea”, do not represent the reality. Nurses should be aware of the way they are portrayed in movies and team up with the media to effectively create a down to earth and accurate image of nursing.