Ebola Crisis Analysis
1. Do you agree with the author that nurses were portrayed as the villain during the Ebola crisis?
I agree with Linda McGillis and Jordana Kashin in thinking that nurses were portrayed as villains spreading the Ebola virus to the public. I know I was guilty of this view point. I think the news media played a big role, because they did not present the full picture of how the Ebola precautionary guidelines varied among organizations. But I feel like Nina Pham was specifically praised for how she handled the situation. She did not seem to go out into public places after being exposed to the United States’ first Ebola patient. Whereas on the other hand, some nurses flew in passenger planes, rode bicycles in their community, or tried to refuse being …show more content…
The media seems to be constantly searching for a news story that will make people react and tune in to the news station. Media sources thrive on this; it is how they make fiscal ends meet. They often use clips of interviews to make news segments or articles more interesting and to weed out irrelevant information. It is important for nurses to speak from an educated and experienced standpoint. Nurses need to use simple terms to avoid confusion with the media’s audience. Nurses should also appear in professional attire and exhibit confidence in how they speak to media sources.
3. The American Nurses Association defended several of the nurses but do you think that was sufficient. Should the ANA have educated the public more on the issue?
I believe the American Nurses Association did well in defending the nurses that it did. However, the association’s voice seemed to be small compared to the other sources the media covered during the Ebola crisis. I think the public was confused because there was so many different organizations releasing statements about the virus and not all of the statements aligned. I believe the ANA should team up with the other health care organizations and release a coherent and consistent statement in future medical crises. This could prevent confusion and promote understanding among the public population.
4. What could have been done differently to change the public's perception of the nurses
I agree with Linda McGillis and Jordana Kashin in thinking that nurses were portrayed as villains spreading the Ebola virus to the public. I know I was guilty of this view point. I think the news media played a big role, because they did not present the full picture of how the Ebola precautionary guidelines varied among organizations. But I feel like Nina Pham was specifically praised for how she handled the situation. She did not seem to go out into public places after being exposed to the United States’ first Ebola patient. Whereas on the other hand, some nurses flew in passenger planes, rode bicycles in their community, or tried to refuse being …show more content…
The media seems to be constantly searching for a news story that will make people react and tune in to the news station. Media sources thrive on this; it is how they make fiscal ends meet. They often use clips of interviews to make news segments or articles more interesting and to weed out irrelevant information. It is important for nurses to speak from an educated and experienced standpoint. Nurses need to use simple terms to avoid confusion with the media’s audience. Nurses should also appear in professional attire and exhibit confidence in how they speak to media sources.
3. The American Nurses Association defended several of the nurses but do you think that was sufficient. Should the ANA have educated the public more on the issue?
I believe the American Nurses Association did well in defending the nurses that it did. However, the association’s voice seemed to be small compared to the other sources the media covered during the Ebola crisis. I think the public was confused because there was so many different organizations releasing statements about the virus and not all of the statements aligned. I believe the ANA should team up with the other health care organizations and release a coherent and consistent statement in future medical crises. This could prevent confusion and promote understanding among the public population.
4. What could have been done differently to change the public's perception of the nurses