When I first heard about this Art in Nursing assignment, I immediately thought about this piece of artwork that I found online over the summer of last year. I am not familiar with the artist, but her signature is included at the bottom right corner of the piece. The drawing depicts a weeping Statue of Liberty holding a young African American boy in her arms. I believe that this work was originally inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement, and represents the lack of support that people of color face in this country. On a larger scale, it also speaks to the amount of work that we as a society need to do in order to achieve true equality and end the outward racism that is ever-present. The drawing makes me emotional, as the look in the Statue’s eyes seems to say “I’m so sorry I’ve let you down”. America has always promoted liberty, autonomy, and justice, but, unfortunately, due to institutional racism, minorities and people of color are not guaranteed those rights and freedoms. This is where I believe the picture connects to the field of nursing. As nurses, we all promise to “do no harm”. Not only does that include making sound clinical decisions and ensuring patients’ physical safety, but it also means that we are patient advocates. We are directly responsible for the nature of the care that a patient receives. We are one of the most trusted professions, and therefore, we must live up to that standard. That means ensuring that ALL patients, regardless of race, ethnicity, age, gender, sexual orientation, or religion, receive the best care possible.
This is a very tender and moving illustration and I can see why you found it so moving. It does remind us of the importance of the nursing profession accepting all patients, regardless… However, I also believe it serves to remind us that healthcare needs to make significant changes to ensure parity of care and opportunities, and the role nursing may play in helping to create a healthcare system for all.
ecarrell (Post author)
Professor Goran,
I completely agree! I think nurses have a unique opportunity to affect change within the healthcare system.
tbinney
Hi Evan,
I really like this art piece and your reflection of what it means to you. I completely agree with you that our system needs systematic reorganization where our system provides not only equal but also equitable healthcare services to all people regardless of their social determinants. I think future nurses have the responsibility in playing a part in this transformation of care, especially when it comes to advocating for quality patient care. Thanks for sharing!
ecarrell (Post author)
Taylor, thank you so much for your thoughtful comment. I think the distinction you made between equal and equitable healthcare services is an important one. Advocating on behalf of our patients will certainly be an important step in meeting this goal.
Ashleigh
This is a moving image and I appreciate how you tied it back to nursing, how we are called to “do no harm,” and to provide service to everyone – regardless of their skin color, beliefs, criminal history, culture, etc. It’s not an easy thing, to set aside our own beliefs and biases, but we’re asked to do that as nurses everyday and I think that’s such an important skill to take beyond the profession and even into every day life. Not only do I agree that we can impact change in healthcare but hopefully we can take that beyond our jobs and impact change in our communities as well!
ecarrell (Post author)
Ashleigh, thank you for taking the time to comment! I love your point about taking this responsibility to affect change home with us, and I completely agree. Setting aside our own biases will prove to be a challenge, but I agree, it’s such an important skill.
This is a very tender and moving illustration and I can see why you found it so moving. It does remind us of the importance of the nursing profession accepting all patients, regardless… However, I also believe it serves to remind us that healthcare needs to make significant changes to ensure parity of care and opportunities, and the role nursing may play in helping to create a healthcare system for all.
Professor Goran,
I completely agree! I think nurses have a unique opportunity to affect change within the healthcare system.
Hi Evan,
I really like this art piece and your reflection of what it means to you. I completely agree with you that our system needs systematic reorganization where our system provides not only equal but also equitable healthcare services to all people regardless of their social determinants. I think future nurses have the responsibility in playing a part in this transformation of care, especially when it comes to advocating for quality patient care. Thanks for sharing!
Taylor, thank you so much for your thoughtful comment. I think the distinction you made between equal and equitable healthcare services is an important one. Advocating on behalf of our patients will certainly be an important step in meeting this goal.
This is a moving image and I appreciate how you tied it back to nursing, how we are called to “do no harm,” and to provide service to everyone – regardless of their skin color, beliefs, criminal history, culture, etc. It’s not an easy thing, to set aside our own beliefs and biases, but we’re asked to do that as nurses everyday and I think that’s such an important skill to take beyond the profession and even into every day life. Not only do I agree that we can impact change in healthcare but hopefully we can take that beyond our jobs and impact change in our communities as well!
Ashleigh, thank you for taking the time to comment! I love your point about taking this responsibility to affect change home with us, and I completely agree. Setting aside our own biases will prove to be a challenge, but I agree, it’s such an important skill.