Top 5 Famous Fictional Nurses

As I have written some of the world-renowned legit nurses in the past, let's go over the present to see some of the most famous nurse characters on television today. Here is the list of the top five fictional nurses from the past until today:

5. Major Margaret J. "Hot Lips" Houlihan, a stiff head nurse who mainly wants to follow everything "by-the-book" for her own benefit. The actress who played this role in the longest running television series -- MASH -- was Sally Kellerman.

4. Christine Chapel, a United Federation of Planets Starfleet nurse in the "Star Trek" original television series. Her character was portrayed by the late Majel Barrett.

3. Audrey March Hardy, the head of student nurses at the famous television series, "General Hospital". Her character was played by Rachel Ames from 1964 to 2002, with a recurring role from 2002 to 2007. Her last guest appearance on the show was in 2009.

2. Samantha Taggart, a nurse in the primetime television drama "ER". She was played by actress Linda Cardellini.

1. Carla Espinosa, an extremely competent and free-spirited nurse in the hit comedy television series "Scrubs". Her character was portrayed by actress Judy Reyes.

These feisty women, although often thought of as escorts are ready to take charge and they only continue to prove that nurses are not just assistants but they also play an important part in the medical team. Although the top five are all women, there were also some male nurses portrayed in some television series. 

Florence Nightingale: The Lady with a Lamp

Some of the recent posts that I wrote were about the icons in nursing history. Now, to continue what I started, I’m going to write a brief but in depth story about the lady who changed the view of many people towards the importance of hygiene and sanitation not only in hospitals but in our homes as well –Florence Nightingale.

Nightingale's Rich Yet Humble Beginnings

 

Florence Nightingale was born on May 12, 1820 in the city where she was named after in Italy. She was born into a well-off family and grew up to become a good writer and statistician. She managed to let go of her first profession in 1844 when she finally decided to enter nursing. She went against her mother and her sister’s will of becoming a wife and a mother. Nightingale traveled in different countries to pursue her career and was much persevered with her God-given calling – to become a nurse. She even rejected those who courted her because she strongly believed that marriage will only hinder her purpose to practice nursing.

Nightingale’s God-Given Calling

The Place Where Nightingale Worked in 1856

Nightingale, being the pioneer in the nursing field among British women had suggested many changes during the Crimean War on 1854. One of which is imposing to have a cleaner environment for both nurses and doctors. Although despised by most men and often harassed due to her femininity, she continued fighting for her rights. Given the stereotypes among women, as those who provide sexual pleasures for men, like that of a courtesan, Nightingale preferred to raise the bar. Her efforts were not wasted as the government sent a prefabricated hospital called the “Renkioi Hospital”. Furthermore, the Sanitary Commission came 6 months after Nightingale arrived to clean out the sewers and provide ventilation. This major adjustment made a drastic improvement in the death rate among soldiers from 42% to 2%. 

Awarded to Nightingale by Queen Victoria

Her nickname “Lady with the Lamp” was derived from a report made in The Times during the Crimean War. She was described as a compassionate lady who never failed to bring hope to those who have less or none. Nightingale was also an advocate towards the advancement of careers of women doctors and nurses. She did not grow to just become rich lady waiting for a gentleman to marry her although she was born from a rich family. Nightingale was legend in the nursing history whose work changed the field of medicine dramatically for the better.

Although she's already gone, her contributions to the nursing profession will forever remain to those who purposely value this duty of becoming a nurse. As quoted from one of 'The Times'' report, "she is a ministering angel without any exaggeration". She is

Is it Hard Living with a Nurse?

For one thing, I don't know if it's hard living with me so I definitely cannot answer that question. Another reason is, I haven't heard any complaints and/or comments from my family regarding my changing attitude or perception about anything after being a nurse. I want to know what others think of nurses in general, whether at home, in the hospital, clinic, office among others and so I decided to write this.

Before writing this post, I've researched some answers to the question: IS IT HARD LIVING WITH A NURSE? And I found some funny as they are true while others are just funny. According to some, it's hard to live with a nurse because...:

1. When you forget to flush the toilet, the nurse will tell you bacteria can evaporate in small droplets thus your exposed belongings such as toothbrush, soap and others become health risks.
2. The nurse will slice every piece of the Thanksgiving turkey so as not to perform Heimlich maneuver on the only holiday he/she has in many years.
3. You may have a sudden awakening in the middle of the night because the nurse hears you having a breathing pattern similar to that of Cheyne-Stokes rhythm.
4. You don't get much sympathy when it comes to your minor illness and injuries as the definition of "minor" differs with that of a nurse. 
5. You can expect sarcastic comments while watching a medical drama with a nurse. Sometimes it's more than a comment, it's shouting comments!
6. If you are a nurse yourself, you can expect random and out of this world medical questions that you can only answer when you're in "study mode". (The usual response I give to my sister -- who's also a nurse -- is, huh??)
7. Just like the sympathy in minor illnesses, you also don't get that much sympathy when it comes to talking about disgusting things in the hospital. Nurses are so immune to these topics that they couldn't care less that others might already be nauseated.
8. When in a social or family gathering and an emergency happens, some nurses tend to ignore as it is only a "minor" illness or help out and miss the important event. Either way they always get harsh comments from their families anyway, so do whichever you like!
9. Nice massages tend to end abruptly after palpating and/or seeing some unusual scars, mole, lump, swelling area in any part of your body. They're basically analyzing everything they see and asks some "medical thingy" to conclude on a diagnosis.
10. You may be judged based on your "performance in bed" since nurses are often viewed as flirtatious and slutty "sexperts", some more than others. Even escorts nowadays like to play the role of a nurse, thus nurses in turn are thought of as escorts as well. 

Knowing some of these answers enlightened me on some issues I shouldn't be doing, especially talking about gross things at the dinner table (lol!). If you do have anymore reasons as to why it is so hard to live with nurse, feel free to add on.

Jusqu'à la prochaine fois (Until next time),

mignon fleur