Thursday, November 24, 2005

Nursing As a Reality Show? Whose Reality?

Ahh, the life of a nurse. The rewards of being able to help people and being appreciated by sick and disabled patients, the knowledge that you're doing one of the most difficult jobs there is. That, combined with high rates of back injuries, exposure to communicable diseases, toxic drugs and chemicals, mandatory overtime, and a birds-eye view of declining health care quality for those who can't afford the best.

Sounds like the basis for an internet-based reality show? You bet! Someone has already thought of it and is looking for "real nurses" to cast the show.

But I'm not sure exactly how many "real" nurses can relate to the "reality" being portrayed:
An Internet-based reality show about nurses made its debut Wednesday in a bid to improve the image of the profession and attract more nurses to California.

The show, "13 Weeks," started Webcasts on http://www.nursetv.com/ . It follows six nurses recruited from across the nation as they live in a rented $10 million mansion, go surfing and sky diving in their spare time and work in hospitals in Orange County -- home of MTV's reality show "Laguna Beach" and the hit Fox TV drama "The O.C."

Sounds good to me. Where do I sign up?