Nurses on the network: Beyond the melodrama, ‘HawthoRNe’ shows nurses as strong and capable

By Jon Sealy

Virginians should take note of “HawthoRNe,” TNT’s medical drama now in its second season, for two reasons: (1) it’s set in Richmond and (2) the show’s heroes are nurses.

We’re used to medical dramas set elsewhere — Chicago, Seattle, Boston — and shows that glorify doctors, surgeons or, lately, medical students. “HawthoRNe” dramatizes the lives of heroes too often unsung, and it does it in a city too often overlooked by national television.

The show stars Jada Pinkett Smith as Christina Hawthorne, a chief nursing officer ready for battle on the front lines of a war against declining patient services and hospital budget cuts.

As the second season opens, the doors of Richmond Trinity have closed permanently and several doctors and nurses have been transferred to James River, a failing hospital in terrible shape. The nurses must struggle against the odds to deliver the best care possible.

While melodrama abounds, the question is, what do REAL nurses think? Is the show accurate?
“A lot of the show is dramatic and a lot is entertaining,” said Kikeana Goodwyn, who has been a nurse at Henrico Doctors’ Hospital for five years. “Some of the vignettes are accurate, but not everything that happens in a hospital is an emergency. A lot of the time we take people through weeks of an emergency, and you just can’t show that on TV.”

Nevertheless, Goodwyn was pleased to see a show about Richmond hospitals. “We have a lot of good hospitals in this area, and we don’t get a lot of publicity, especially since we’re so close to Washington.”

She also thinks “HawthoRNe” makes an important point about the profession of nursing. “What’s good about the show is that the main character — Jada Pinkett — is a strong person. A lot of times we take a backseat to doctors, and she does a great job of showing how nurses are strong, capable people.”
What you also see in the show, noted Goodwyn, is the way everyone works as a team for the greater good of the patient. “What we do as nurses,” she said, “we try to be patient advocates, and we try to keep our ego out of things so that the patient is at the center, so it’s not really a fistfight between nurses, doctors and social services. We try to get the best care for our patients.”

Nurse Hawthorne “definitely got a good team, and teamwork is important to nursing,” Goodwyn continued. “You work long hours, and it’s stressful, and they bring that out in the show.”
“It’s an encouraging show,” agreed Amanda Dyer, who is a nurse and orthopedic coordinator for HCA. “It’s inspiring to see RNs — who do have to acquire a lot of education — receiving the respect and the autonomy they deserve.”

Dyer has worked for many years as a nurse in many different hospital systems. She noted that although nurses are well educated, they aren’t always viewed with high esteem. “What you see on HawthoRNe is that when the character speaks, other people listen and she gets the support she needs. The moral of ‘HawthoRNe’ is that nurses rock and nurses rule.”
Check out the show for yourself every Tuesday night on TNT.