When the movie M*A*S*H* was first released, I was starting my training as an OR tech in the U.S. Army. I thought to myself that doctors did not behave in that manner. Was I surprised. We were professional technicians when it came to the patients but there were the water fights and the jokes. When there were no scubs left for the Chief Surgeon to wear, he wore a dress. Looking back on it now, some of these antics would be viewed as sexual harrassment. But there were tender and heartfelt moments as well, I remember so well when a baby was born dead and the surgeon blessed him. Something I have yet to see in a movie.

In watching shows in later years, I would just laugh at how absurd some of these shows portrayed the medical field. The killer running around the hospital in surgical attire and no one stopping to question him. No one wore a mask except in the OR. There was also the super nurse, she worked on all the floors and knew everything about every patient that came into the hospital and was able to tell her husband the policeman about the situation.

Yes, there was talk about the staff using the resident's room for other activities other than sleeping. Some of what is seen on television does happen. There are far too many negative aspects of what really goes on in the nursing field. I think it is getting a little better but not by much. The shows that portray the staff in their actual roles are the reality shows. No drama, no love triangles and no killers running around loose, just individuals doing their jobs.

The general public is very misinformed about the scope of nursing, it is not until they are hospitalized that they realize the responsibilities of the nurse. If the public is to be educated in the role of the nurse, the televisions that are set up in doctor's waiting rooms, in hospitals, in out patient clinics and other