Stereotypic Differences between Doctors and Nurses

Laor

In literature that notes the differences between nurses and doctors, many parallels are drawn to domestic and societal differences between males and females, comparing the historical roles of nurses to the roles of nineteenth century families’ wives. With these metaphors of nursing as female servitude, certain images arise that seem to characterize and limit the potential of nurses. How does the prevalent use of imagery that compares nurses to female servants affect the nature of the controversy about the roles of nurses and doctors and how do these constrictions play into effectiveness of patient care? This imagery is an example of a “sleeping metaphor” that Emily Martin warned about, in her article “The Egg and the Sperm” (Martin 104)…