Nurses Wear Stethoscopes

The View is a television talk show hosted by a group of women that airs during the day.  Recently, they have been in the public eye due to their comments regarding nurses and their profession.  During the Miss America pageant, one of the contestants performed a monologue about her job while wearing a stethoscope.  Miss Colorado spoke about her career as a nurse, and focused on one of her particular patients.  Obviously, the hosts of The View did not realize what the job of a nurse entails.  They commented on her wearing a stethoscope, when that is supposed to be used by doctors.  Have they never been to the doctor’s office and had the nurse take their blood pressure?  A stethoscope is needed to complete this simple vital.  Obviously the hosts did not think about what they said, and offended many practicing nurses throughout the world.  Nurses and individuals expressed their opinions on this issue through Twitter and other social media outlets. 

Because of the comments, many advertisers have backed out of sponsoring The View.  Johnson & Johnson took to social media to express their opinions on the issue after backing out of sponsoring the talk show.  They posted to Facebook to disagree with the comments.  In addition, they expressed their gratitude to nurses and what they do for their numerous patients.   Nurses have a large impact in patient care.  They create special relationships with patients and see numerous things throughout their career.  Nurses witness everything from new life to death.  They must be a strong individual with a passion about helping people in need. 

Recently, The View apologized on their show and invited nurses to speak about their profession.  This was a smart move on their part, since they lost two of their biggest sponsors due to the controversy.  The hosts did not realize at that moment that the comments would have such a large impact on the world.  I think the apology was definitely necessary, but could have been avoided if they would have thought before they spoke.  Without the public backlash, would they even have made a public apology?  This just shows that social media is a tool that allows people to stand up for what they believe in while making an impact.  Overall, every profession has value and should be respected at all times.