Role Of Women In The Movie Wit

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Nurses play a variety of roles in healthcare, and all of which are centered on the patient’s quality of care. In the film Wit, a college professor, Vivian Bearing, is diagnosed with stage 4 metastatic ovarian cancer. This film documents the physical, emotional, and mental exhaustion she undergoes while receiving chemotherapy treatment in a hospital facility. This patient was previously a well-distinguished academic, who by the end of the film is stripped of all of her humanity. As she journeys on through the various treatments, Ms. Bearing encounters a multitude of healthcare professionals ranging from doctors, residents, nurses, and radiologists. Many of these professionals are simply doing the necessities of their job description and …show more content…
Bearing that none of the other employees display. Susie’s role in many cases is of an advocate, counselor, and comforter. This nurse is continually demonstrating advocacy as she emphasizes her patient’s needs and desires to the other healthcare professionals responsible for Ms. Bearing’s care. A direct example of this is after Ms. Bearing’s passing. Susie expresses Ms. Bearing’s desire to not be resuscitated when her heart stops. Although there was an attempt made to resuscitate after the initial recognition of death. Susie, being aware of Ms. Bearing’s desire to not revive if the situation occurred, halted those actions, which is a direct example of patient advocacy. This idea of patient advocacy has become a trend in today’s healthcare society. It is the idea that a healthcare professional is needed to provide support and information in favor of the patient, and quite often that patient is a nurse (Long, 2015). Susie …show more content…
Bearing’s physiological needs of both minor and major proportions. Even when a minor need is met such as applying lotion to Bearing’s dry hands displays the compassion Susie maintains for Ms. Bearing in her last days. This kind of compassion, advocacy, support, and counseling is a role that many nurses fulfill in their daily activities. In many ways, Susie represented registered nurses well as Ms. Bearing’s primary nurse. There are many other tasks that a nurse would be involved in that were not noted in the film Wit, but Susie overall emphasized nurses in a positive light as caring, compassionate, and supportive. Susie’s portrayal throughout the film could have been more prominent as to show RNs more participative role in the hospital. The nurse is also not often shown actually performing significant nurse responsibilities in regards to the patient’s physiological needs. Taking care of the patient’s physiological needs first is the initial step of constructing a trusting relationship, yet this was not adequately documented in the

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