From Silence to Voice, a Book Report
From Silence to Voice, a Book Report
Michael Hager, RN, NREMT-P
Nevada State College
NU 408 Transitions in Professional Nursing
Linda Jacobson, MSN, RN, PHN, COI
Abstract
Bernice Buresh and Suzanne Gordon have written a sentinel work for nursing that addresses the misrepresentation or absence of nursing in the media and the public consciousness. This book is more than a call to arms for nurse activism. From Silence to Voice is an instructional aid for shaping dialogue to disseminate an effective message. With the current state of healthcare, nursing needs this manual more than ever to shape the direction of nursing policy and perception.
Keywords: nursing, media, healthcare policy, public opinion, communication in nursing
From Silence to Voice, A Book Report
Bernice Buresh and Suzanne Gordon are renowned journalists, lecturers, and authors. The book details how the two women became involved with nursing advocacy in 1989 through a project sponsored by the Pew Charitable Trust. The program sought to investigate public perception of nursing and to cultivate a positive nursing image with the use of the news media. Buresh & Gordon found that despite nursing being the largest healthcare profession, they are also grossly underrepresented and misunderstood (Buresh & Gordon, 2006). Their pivotal co-authored book, From Silence to Voice: What Nurses Know and Must Communicate to the Public, explains the lack of public representation concerning professional presence. The book further outlines how to make nursing’s voice heard through effective communication.
The problem begins with public perception. Buresh & Gordon point out a fundamental disconnect. The public trusts and respects nurses as caregivers but does not understand the professional standard or practice of nursing (Buresh & Gordon, 2006). Buresh & Gordon movingly quote Joan Lynaugh, nurse historian, “Most people know they can’t get into a hospital without a doctor. What they don’t know is
Michael Hager, RN, NREMT-P
Nevada State College
NU 408 Transitions in Professional Nursing
Linda Jacobson, MSN, RN, PHN, COI
Abstract
Bernice Buresh and Suzanne Gordon have written a sentinel work for nursing that addresses the misrepresentation or absence of nursing in the media and the public consciousness. This book is more than a call to arms for nurse activism. From Silence to Voice is an instructional aid for shaping dialogue to disseminate an effective message. With the current state of healthcare, nursing needs this manual more than ever to shape the direction of nursing policy and perception.
Keywords: nursing, media, healthcare policy, public opinion, communication in nursing
From Silence to Voice, A Book Report
Bernice Buresh and Suzanne Gordon are renowned journalists, lecturers, and authors. The book details how the two women became involved with nursing advocacy in 1989 through a project sponsored by the Pew Charitable Trust. The program sought to investigate public perception of nursing and to cultivate a positive nursing image with the use of the news media. Buresh & Gordon found that despite nursing being the largest healthcare profession, they are also grossly underrepresented and misunderstood (Buresh & Gordon, 2006). Their pivotal co-authored book, From Silence to Voice: What Nurses Know and Must Communicate to the Public, explains the lack of public representation concerning professional presence. The book further outlines how to make nursing’s voice heard through effective communication.
The problem begins with public perception. Buresh & Gordon point out a fundamental disconnect. The public trusts and respects nurses as caregivers but does not understand the professional standard or practice of nursing (Buresh & Gordon, 2006). Buresh & Gordon movingly quote Joan Lynaugh, nurse historian, “Most people know they can’t get into a hospital without a doctor. What they don’t know is