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Alan Cunningham describes how common stereotypes have an influence on nursing, both within and outside the profession.
O wad some pow'r the giftie gie us
To see oursels as others see us. Robert Burns
key words
Nursing: image
Nursing: profession
These key words are based on the subject headings from the British Nursing Index. This article has been subject to double-blind review.
Introduction
A stereotype is a cognitive framework whereby characteristics are attributed to an entire group of people. Stereotypes have been described as 'pictures in our heads' (Deaux and Wrightsman 1988) and 'implicit personality theories' (Schneider 1973). They provide a useful shortcut to classify people and events into pre-existing mental schema (Byrne and Byrne 1992).
The problem is that, what is true of the group as a whole, may or may not apply to an individual member of the group (Schermerhorn et al 1985). In addition the stereotypical, often negative, view of the group may apply to few, if any, members; thus stereotypes are intimately linked to prejudice, which may be defined as a negative attitude towards someone who is a member of a specific group, based upon the fact that he or she is a member of that group (Niven and Robinson 1994).
Once established in consciousness, stereotypes are tenacious. Dovidio et al (1986) suggest that only information consistent with the stereotype is accepted, while all contradictory information or behaviour is usually ignored. Despite this, people believe that they can see through stereotypes and are unprejudiced in their own judgements (Davitz and Davitz 1985). In this respect, most people appear to be wrong most of the time, since stereotyped judgements dominate our perceptions of other people (Deaux and Wrightsman 1988).
Stereotypes of nurses
Stereotypes of nurses abound and an extensive literature on the subject reflects the concern of the nursing profession about the gap between the colourful image of nurses and the reality. Bridges (1990), in a literature review on the subject, identified 34 different stereotypes of nurses, but the 'big four' are:
The ministering angel.
The battleaxe.
The naughty nurse (Salvage 1982).
The doctor's handmaiden (Kalisch and Kalisch 1982a, Salvage 1985).
It is significant that nurses are perceived as being female - the mothering image - (Fagin...