A research led by Gerard Fealy, a professor of nursing and midwifery at University College Dublin in Ireland, claimed that its saddening to see how nurses are being projected as sexual playthings on YouTube.

This claim was made after some 10 most-viewed clips were examined and it was found what kind of image nurses are being shown portrayed. “Despite being hailed as a medium of the people, our study showed that YouTube is no different to other mass media in the way that it propagates gender-bound, negative and demeaning nursing stereotypes,” said Fealy, who is of the view that such things can very well affect the image of nurses in the minds of patients.

There is dire need for professional bodies to come forward and pay heed to the underlying issues before things become all the more complicated. There is need for steps to be taken to eradicate negative stereotyping of nurses which is likely to cause enough damage to their profession too.

Published in the August issue of the Journal of Advanced Nursing, the research showed that four of the ten clips were posted by nurses so as to show the profession in positive light.