I did some reading at Journalist’s Resource in the health section, and I was blown away by the lack of attention that was paid to nurses by journalists. I would think that the first boots on the ground are the ones that you’d want to talk to, rather than being directed to a specific doctor that had most likely already been prepared by the hospital’s public relations department. Nurses are typically more informed, and they do up to ninety percent of the physical procedures done on patients in hospitals. For instance, when was the last time that you remember a doctor giving you a blood draw instead of a nurse? Who’s the first line of communication to patients when things get twisted? Nurses. Every time.
The general lack of information about front line workers is astounding, even in the government. Medicare and Medicaid are brutally misunderstood by the majority of US citizens, and journalists are partly to blame for that lack of understanding. Just the amount of United States citizens that are covered is usually grossly misrepresented. As well as the amount of time the primary groups who need these programs stay on them. Medicaid typically has seniors and disabled individuals, these people typically stay on these programs. Medicare has a massive turnover, and isn’t usually just occupied by “freeloaders.” People who lose their jobs, and regain employment typically leave medicare.