The movie industry in Nigeria is constantly portraying the nursing profession in a bad light, a 21-year-old nurse has said.

According to Ifedoyin Kolapo, a nurse at Krystal Medical Centre, Lagos, quack nurses are also not helping matters.

Speaking in The Punch Spice report, Kolapo said,

“Nurses are really sweet and calm individuals and I have heard this from many patients. So, I am not just saying it because I’m a nurse. Most of the people who say that haven’t even come in contact with nurses. The movie industry and the quacks out there are not helping matters. They keep portraying nurses in a bad light and that needs to stop.

She added,

I have been working in the clinical field since early 2019 and it has helped me to take more responsibility. It has also sharpened my decision-making skills.

While agreeing that doctors are recognised and held in more awe than nurses, Kolapo explained that nurses are equally as important.

She said,

It is true that nurses are not as recognised as doctors but it is not true that they are not as important. Everyone in the health sector has a role to play. Like in the human body, the brain can send signals but if the heart decides not to pump blood, it is over.

A nurse is not a doctor’s assistant. Nursing goes beyond taking the vital signs of patients and administering injections. A nurse assesses and detects irregularities in patients’ health, records medical history and information, acts as an advocate for patients, collaborates with team for patients’ treatment, provides psychological support to patients and their families, diagnoses patients, and the list goes on. Nurses are undervalued but they are one of the most important people in healthcare.