How realistic? - Nurse Jackie (2009) Discussion

[–] marriagesux 9 years ago

I'm mostly amazed at how functional she could be. If I'm stoned there is no way I can pull off a job of any sort.

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[–] baldtacos 9 years ago

it's incredibly easy to operate on Oxy once you've used it for awhile...for someone with legit spine issues and who has had multiple surgeries that failed and made the pain issue worse there's no way I could hold a job without the use of pain killers...I'm able to be top 5% in production because of them...because of the extent of the pain I get zero high or euphoria...before all of my pain issues if I had a couple of 5 mg vikes I'd be swimming so...we know Jackie must be bullsh*itting any pain issues as she continues to get stoned on the same med...there's a ton of things in this series that are nonsense...but, I loved the show anyway and am disappointed there won't be anymore seasons...

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[–] Flyingskunk 9 years ago

I've meet Doctors who were crack heads.. for years. And no, I do not think all hospitals give random drug test.

As for the docs taking notice.. they barely spend 2 minutes with their own patients.. let alone pay any real attention to nurses.

You also have to realize Jackie is (or was???) a pro. She didn't start this just last months.. this was her life even before we "met" her.

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[–] DoctorinPA73 9 years ago

According to the Nurse Jackie DVD commentary track- it is unparalleled in realism
They had top notch technical consultants( both Nurses) on the show that kept it as true to life as possible.

here. read.

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/06/28/what-nurse-jackie-gets-right-about-the-e-r/

FLip side of the coin read what an RN said about the show

http://nursing.advanceweb.com/Editorial/Comments/Comments.aspx?CID=201813&URL=http%3A%2F%2Fnursing.advanceweb.com%2FEditorial%2FContent%2FEditorial.aspx%3FCFM%3D156327
I quote her:

I like to watch Nurse Jackie -and,to a lesser degree,Hawthorne, but neither portrays nursing in a realistic way. Nursing is hard work, requiring many and varied skills and determination, and there is a reason nurses consistently are voted most honest and trustworthy professionals. Nurse Jackie promotes unfair stereotypes of nurses,sex and drugs, and Hawthorne portrays a bedside CNO-unlikely pre-economic downturn, impossible in these times. What is wrong with portraying a nurse as she/he really is? My career certainly had plenty of hard work,conflict and resolution,excitement and human interest - that is the definition of nursing.

Nurse Jackie is a dramedy. And if they made it 100% realistic, it wouldnt be very entertaining- just boring.

Merry Xmas to all ( and to hell with everyone else who doesn't believe)

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[–] 9 years ago

[deleted]

[–] DoctorinPA73 9 years ago

damn! Seriously? thats messed up.
its funny. All the nursed i knew in my life never get with drs. they said and i quote " nah they are all married"

Merry Xmas to all ( and to hell with everyone else who doesn't believe)

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[–] spkeck 9 years ago

They do have random drug tests but sometime they could be years and years between them if at all.

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[–] dorseybelle 9 years ago

Dental Hygienist here. Addict. For years. I can relate to most of Jackie's 'intrigues.' And it is incredibly easy to get your hands on drugs.

She did it! She did it! The lady with the grape!

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[–] soljwf98 9 years ago

Very realistic show. I'm not in the medical field but am in recovery and know a lot of nurses and doctors in the program. All of Jackie's behaviors displayed, no matter how seemingly ridiculous or extreme they are, are actually quite sound with real life testimony I've heard in the rooms.

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[–] Przeciwdeszczowy 9 years ago

I don't know how often nurses get random drug tests once they have a position in the hospital, but I would assume hospitals make you take a drug test when you're about to start in the job. In the last episodes Jackie was about to move to a different hospital, I assume she would not have actually been able to start work at it.

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[–] dorseybelle 9 years ago

This is going to sound incredibly stupid. I've seen this series several times. Did Jackie die in the last episode? Why did she snort heroin? The ending was very vague to me.

She did it! She did it! The lady with the grape!

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[–] Osova 9 years ago

You're supposed to draw your own conclusion. Because she wanted to.

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[–] t-toro 9 years ago

I know a surgeon who comes to the local pub and gets so wasted he has no idea who the hell he is or where he's at, but gets up the next day and goes to work like nothing happened. One of the worst alcoholics I've ever seen, but he functions like a normal person.

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[–] Przeciwdeszczowy 9 years ago

I have a little trouble believing this, mainly since heavy drinking over a long time causes loads of side effects, one of which is shaking hands. A surgeon needs steady hands way more than the average person, so have drinking will impact their work over time even if they don't go to work drunk or hungover.

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[–] t-toro 9 years ago

Why would I make that up? You don't have to believe me, but I know for a fact that it's true. We've seen him at the bar the night before and then the next day we saw him at the grocery store in his scrubs. Somehow he manages it.

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[–] Przeciwdeszczowy 9 years ago

I might have put it a little wrong since English is not my first language, so my apologies for any misunderstandings. I don't assume you would lie just for the sake of it nor is that what I meant.

What I meant is that if this is the case, either he has not had the habit for very long or he is not a surgeon but a different kind of doctor. There are doctors working in the OR who are not surgeons. In any case, over time a surgeon with a heavy drinking habit would lose the ability to do his job, that is a fact. How long this takes obviously depends on the person and the extent of their alcoholism.

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[–] t-toro 9 years ago

It's quite alright and actually you write fantastic English, never would have guessed it to be your second language if you hadn't told me.

Well I know he is a doctor and works in the OR, perhaps he isn't a surgeon or used to be and now isn't, that I am not 100% sure of. I do know for sure he works in the OR and I have been told he is a surgeon. The hospital he works for is awful so I honestly wouldn't be surprised if he goes in with shaky hands and works and they let him and he gets away with it simply because that hospital is incompetent.

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[–] aurorak 9 years ago

People function in all kinds of high skilled, high stress jobs with addiction

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[–] sociopathsalty-1 9 years ago

Nursing has one of the highest (if not THE highest) statistics regarding substance abuse among professionals. As others have said, as you grow deeper into addiction, you're ability to function while under the influence improves substantially, to the point where you can't function if you are NOT under the influence.

As a nurse, we don't get drug tested unless there's a concern (pills are missing, or someone thinks we may be working while impaired). There are random screens but again, that's usually just when there's been a concern somewhere in the system. We all get screened as part of the new hire process. It's sad, but usually no one notices someone is an addict until they are passed out in the bathroom, or they've broken some federal laws. The awful thing is that nurses really do know how to lie their way out of these things so well. I've seen a lot of people like Jackie who always have reasons for their actions, they know where to get drugs, how many they can take, how long it takes for them to clear their system etc etc etc.

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