The Public's Image Of Nurses — Now And 15 Years Ago

The public's perception that nurses unquestionably follow doctors' orders is clearly on its way out, according to new research by MORI for the Royal College of Nursing and Nursing Times magazine. Instead, the public views nursing as a caring and highly skilled profession in its own right.

As we enter the 21st Century, the survey shows that the public's perception of nurses has shifted dramatically since a similar survey was carried out 15 years ago. More people now believe nurses are, and should be, well educated, and are, and should be, doing a lot to improve their pay and working conditions.

The public is also rejecting old-fashioned stereotypes of nurses such as seeing them as 'sex objects' and 'battleaxes'. Only six per cent of the public now view nurses as "having sexual appeal" while only eight per cent now believe they are "very authoritarian". Most notably, only around one in ten now believe that nurses are naturally better at doing their job if they are female, compared with almost three in ten in 1984.

But nurses will be reassured that the public still holds strong traditional perceptions of them as being hardworking and caring as these were the most commonly selected statements chosen by the public to describe nurses. Around eight out of ten selected descriptions of nurses as "extremely hardworking" and "caring and understanding", and six in ten said they are "equally concerned with patients' physical and emotional needs".

Commenting on the MORI survey, Christine Hancock, RCN General Secretary, said: "Quite rightly, the public still places the highest value on the essentials of nursing - caring for the all-round needs of patients. But they also clearly value the new roles nurses are undertaking and support our fight for better pay, working conditions and education."

Technical details

MORI surveyed a representative sample of 2,003 GB adults aged 15+ between 19-22 November 1999. A 'split-sample' technique was used to ask around half the public about the 'actual nurse', and around half about the 'ideal nurse'. The survey will be published in full in Nursing Times on 6 January 2000.