This year’s Miss America 2015 beauty pageant saw a different talent presented by Miss Colorado Kelley Johnson, when she stepped on stage donned in scrubs and stethoscope around her neck. In a short but moving monologue she talked about her Alzheimer’s patient and how she helped him recognize that he wasn’t Alzheimer’s but a person first. The patient in turn reminded her that she wasn’t ‘just a nurse’ but much more!

In a resounding statement she went on to say, “Patients are more than a room number, and I am a life saver. I am more than just a nurse.” Halfway through the monologue, the crowd gave her a huge cheer.

However, in a turn of events hosts of a day time TV show called ‘The View’ mocked Miss Kelley’s heart warming monologue by bashing her appearance and profession as a nurse! They made rude and ignorant statements like these-

“She came out in a nurse’s uniform and basically read her emails out loud and shockingly did not win…it was hilarious.”

“Why does she have a doctor’s stethoscope on?” asked one of the hosts. To which her co-host replied, “She helps patients with Alzheimer’s, which I know is not funny, but I swear you had to see it.”

Angry Nurses unite on Twitter (#nursesunite)

Angry nurses, doctors and even general public took to Twitter to voice their disgust and shock against the show and showed their support for the nursing community

The American Nurses Association released a formal statement against the day time TV show’s harsh and insensitive remarks saying –

“Each and every day, the nation’s 3.4 million registered nurses provide expert, high-quality and compassionate care, as well as dedicated leadership from the bedside to the boardroom. One in every 100 Americans is a registered nurse. We are the frontline caregivers, 24 hours, 7 days a week, who are with individuals from birth, throughout their lifespan and at the end of life. We care for patients, their families and communities. Nurses have a professional, ethical obligation to their patients, and are committed to transforming the health care system to achieve better health outcomes at reduced cost.

That’s why it was disturbing when Joy Behar, co-host of “The View,” used her national platform and influence to mock Miss America contestant Kelley Johnson for wearing a “doctor’s stethoscope” while performing a dramatic monologue about her experience as a registered nurse during the pageant’s talent competition, as if Johnson were wearing a costume.

Nurses don’t wear costumes; they save lives.

That’s why the response to our social media campaign #NursesShareYourStethoscopes has been so overwhelming.
Nurses use stethoscopes and other tools to assess patients and use this information to coordinate the appropriate level of care with physicians and other members of a patient’s health care team.
For the past 13 years, nurses have held the top spot as the public’s most honest and ethical profession in America in an annual Gallup poll, and with good reason. As the largest group of health care professionals, registered nurses protect the public health, provide high-quality, compassionate care, and advocate for patients and their families.

A Doctor’s Support goes viral!
Arin Piramzadian, DO, an emergency medicine physician wasn’t thrilled either and decided to speak up for his colleagues. He posed for a photo, wearing the stethoscopes of several nurses in the hospital where he works, and posted it on Facebook with the following message:

“I would like to thank ‘The View’ for reminding me to confiscate all the doctor stethoscopes since my nurses only use it as fashion accessories. Let’s just hope none of the 200 patients in the ED today need vitals taken, have to be triaged, need to be reevaluated or have unimportant organs like lungs, heart or bowels that need to be evaluated. Let’s just hope the nurses don’t want their nurse costumes back from me.”
The photo went viral, earning nearly more than 330,000 shares and nearly 30,000 likes in less than 24 hours.
Piramzadian tells Yahoo Health he decided to take the photo on a whim after walking into work and seeing the outrage of his colleagues over the “incredible condescending and demeaning comments” made about them on The View.

Losing Sponsors
‘The View’ is a highly watched American day time TV show with great ratings day on day, which makes the TV ad slots during the show that much more watched. Johnson & Johnson and Egg-Land’s Best were two large companies that ran ads during the show but in the aftermath of the insensitive statements by the hosts have openly supported nurses and paused their advertising. Not only have the ads been paused but the two companies also made statements supporting nurses

Hosts Apologize
In light of the backlash the very same hosts apologized on live TV by saying, “People were very upset with us! For all the nurses watching… we love nurses! We adore and respect you; you are the most compassionate people. I was not talking about her as a nurse, it got misconstrued” Her co-host apologized as well; saying, “I was watching the Miss America tape and I saw this woman in her scrubs,with the steth and I wasn’t sure if she was in her costume..but she was a nurse! I’m usually used to seeing them in gowns and bathing suits. It was very stupid and inattentive on my part.”

The American Nurses Association replied to this, “We are pleased that Behar apologized on the show this morning, and think this is a great opportunity for those in the media to highlight the important, lifesaving role of nurses and to show them the respect they deserve.”

As medical professionals, it is important that such acts and insensitive statements are dealt with in the very way the nurses united to do on Twitter as did the doctor who took a moving picture with the stethoscopes. Unity and timely response along with huge backing by corporate giants in this case helped make a case for the always compassionate and hard working medico.

Enjoyed reading this news story? For MORE medical discussions,image cases, MCQs and cases download the DAILY ROUNDS app for FREE! at App Store or Play Store

Original Post: Yahoo Health, American Nursing Association
Image Credit: Dr. Aren Zadian and ET

   Send article as PDF