As a nurse, you live it, breathe it, work it, and for some reason, you want to watch it too. I can't explain it, but if I find a movie with a nurse or nurses in it, especially if they play a big role, I want to watch it. Then what do I do?
I criticize it...
That's not what a nurse would do! That doctor is doing what A NURSE WOULD! That never happens! The EKG monitor can't be right...They don't look intubated...so many comments and criticisms go through my head and sometimes out my mouth...
Here are some that I have watched and liked...or not...you decide...
MOVIES/VIDEOS:
A FAREWELL TO ARMS (1957) based on an Ernest Hemingway novel which was semi-autobiographical. Stars Rock Hudson as an American soldier who meets and falls in love with a British nurse in an Italian hospital during World War I.
THE AMERICAN NURSE (2014) documentary shows five nurses from varied backgrounds who work in different settings, including a prison, a nursing home, and in labor and delivery in a hospital. The film presents a positive image of strong, dedicated and independent nurses.
THE ENGLISH PATIENT (1996) This romantic movie, set in Italy during World War II, features Juliette Binoche as Hana, a nurse who takes care of a man (Ralph Fiennes) with severe burns in an Italian monastery.
FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE. (1985) Jaclyn Smith as Florence Nightingale shows how the Lady with the Lamp became one of the most important advocates for sanitation and cleanliness. Follow Florence from her early roots to her nursing career during the Crimean War and even some battles with the medical establishment. A must see for an in depth look at what many call the founder of modern day nursing.
M*A*S*H (1970) was a movie before it was a TV show. Based on a popular novel, it features Sally Kellerman as Major Margaret "Hot Lips" Houlihan. The character is based on two real nurses who served during the Korean War.
MEET THE PARENTS (2000) Ben Stiller plays a nurse who has to deal with his future father in law (Robert De Niro) who is an ex-CIA agent who can truly make any addition to the family miserable. Sequel to the movie MEET THE FOCKERS (2004). These were both hilarious!
MISERY (1990) Based on a Stephen King book by the same name. The plot centers around an obsessive fan (Kathy Bates), who was once a nurse, who holds an author captive and forces him to rewrite the finale to his book series. Great book, great story, and great movie!
MISS EVERS' BOYS (1997) stars Alfre Woodard as small town nurse, Eunice Evers, who witnesses the horrors of the Tuskegee experiment.
NIGHT NURSE. (1931) Barbara Stanwyck plays a nurse who seeks the help of a petty criminal to foil a sinister plot to murder two children. See how nurses were trained and what they did to get an idea of how far we have come.
NURSES: If Florence Could See Us Now (YouTube, 2013) Interviews with over 100 nurses from across the U.S. You'll hear from nurses caring for babies, adults, the elderly, and the dying. One nurse describes how she and another nurse brought together a long-married couple so they could be together as they died, within 30 minutes of each other. You'll see the varied aspects of nursing in public health, research, adult care, and pediatrics. Through lobbying in Washington, D.C., these nurses learn to be problem-solvers, improvisers, and agents of change.
ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO's NEST (1975) Jack Nicholson is a patient at a mental institution. Louise Fletcher plays scary Nurse Ratched who makes his stay memorable. A classic.
SO PROUDLY WE HAIL! (1943) follows a group of stationed U.S. Military nurses trapped behind enemy lines in the Philippines during World War II. Based on a book written by an actual WWII nurse.
WIT (2001) Professor Vivian Bearing (Emma Thompson) spent her adult life contemplating religion and death as literary motifs. Diagnosed with advanced ovarian cancer, she consents to an aggressive and experimental chemotherapy. Audra McDonald plays Susie Monahan, a primary care nurse, who provides nursing care for Vivian.
TV SHOWS:
13 Weeks (2005) A 13-episode reality television show about six travel nurses on assignment in southern California. The film shows how the nurses work and explore the area. Each episode is 10-15 minutes. You'll meet their patients and coworkers and see how they integrate with the full-time staff. Many travel assignments are planned in 13-week blocks, during which nurses make friends, care for patients, and grow their professional network. This documentary gives you an inside look at the process and the nurses' lives.
ANGELS IN AMERICA (2003) This miniseries features six New York strong nurses who work during the AIDS epidemic in 1985.
CAPTURING THE KILLER NURSE (2022) true crime documentary film about serial killer Charles Cullen and how investigators were able to prove Cullen was killing patients while working in hospitals and at a nursing home as a nurse in the United States. The film is based on the 2013 book The Good Nurse by Charles Graeber
CASTLE ROCK featuring and inspired by characters, settings, and themes from the stories created by Stephen King and his fictional town of Castle Rock. If you are a Stephen King fan, you will like this show!
DIRTY JOHN miniseries based true crime podcast based on the life of John Michael Meehan, a nurse anesthetist. This story is so crazy that it is hard to believe that it really happened. This is a story of how romance with the charismatic John Meehan spiraled into secrets, denial, manipulation, and survival. This was a binge watcher for me, couldn't stop until it was done. I listened to the podcast after and then I found videos of interviews of the real people from this story. You gotta watch this!
ER This show ran for fifteen seasons and for good reason. ER follows the inner life of the emergency room of Cook County General Hospital in Chicago, and various critical issues faced by the department's physicians and staff. It is mostly about doctors and as far as medical shows go, pretty good depiction of what it can be like to work in the ER.
GREY'S ANATOMY This show has seasons. It follows medical students who become doctors. The scenarios are interesting and there is a lot of love drama. I watched it and liked it, but as some of the original people left over the years, it fell off a bit for me. As med students, they changed bed pans and did some things that I have never see any doctor do. Nurses are in this show, but primarily it is about these doctors. I just mention it because I tend to watch medical shows and some of the scenarios could happen.
HOUSE (8 seasons) Dr. Gregory House (played by Hugh Laurie), an unconventional, medical genius who, despite his dependence on pain medication, leads a team of diagnosticians at the fictional Princeton–Plainsboro Teaching Hospital in New Jersey. Great imaginative doctor show, a good watch.
M*A*S*H (Mobile Army Surgical Hospital) 11 seasons, based on 1970 movie. The story of three army doctors, members of the 4077th, and takes place during the Korean War use humor to escape the horror and depression of the situation. I watched many episodes as a youngster and found it entertaining.
NURSE JACKIE stars Edie Falco as the title character, Jackie Peyton, an emergency department nurse at All Saints' Hospital in New York City is an overworked nurse who relies on drugs to get her through life and work. Although controversial in the nursing profession, the show is actually impressive in how it portrayed nursing accurately. Jackie is very likable, great show!
SCRUBS features Zach Braff and Donald Faison and follows the lives of employees at the fictional Sacred Heart Hospital, which is a teaching hospital. Show ran for 8 seasons and then was revived for a ninth season, subtitled Med School, with the setting moved to a medical school. Funny show about surgical intern doctors, entertaining.
THE GOOD NURSE based on a true story. Starring Jessica Chastain and Eddie Redmayne, about Amy Loughren, a night nurse, who suspects that her co-worker Charles Cullen is a real-life serial killer who admitted to killing 29 people; experts believe he killed roughly 400 during his 16 years as a nurse. He was fired from 9 facilities before being caught. Worth the watch, this happened.
THE NURSE Danish thriller and true story of an "angel of death," a woman who works in a Danish hospital. Suspicion arises when relatively healthy patients start to die from unrelated cardiac arrest. The series is based on a book written by Kristian Corfixen. Not super exciting, but I didn't feel like I wasted my time. worth the watch.
I am sure that there are loads more great nurse and medical movies and TV shows. Add more in the comments!
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