Opinion - America doesn't trust the media, we do trust nurses. What can one learn from the other?
We recently celebrated Nurses' Week, when we see nurses receiving thanks for their hard work and dedication to health care. This recognition is essential, and our community needs to hear it. And then, for the most part, nurses will fade from coverage again until the next year.
Indeed, for more than two decades, nurses have appeared in only about 2 percent of health news reporting. During that time, two facts have remained unchanged: Nurses make up the largest sector of the healthcare workforce, with a caring presence in every practice setting, and we have been consistently named the most trusted profession, according to Gallup.
One thing that has changed? The simultaneous and rapid decline of trust in mass media — and the rapid rise of misinformation, disinformation and political propaganda in turn. Journalism is, in fact, one of the least trusted professions today.
It follows that, as American journalism scrambles to rescue its newsrooms, the industry would benefit from not just including nurses in their coverage but from adopting a nursing model and lens.
Nurses are trusted to enter people's homes, deliver their babies, clean their wounds and prepare their dead for burial. That trust is not accidental; we cultivate it. Nurses must forge genuine connections with every person they meet in order to be clinically effective. Genuine connection requires unconditional respect — even if a person has done or said (or represents) what you believe to be abhorrent.
Our colleagues in journalism cannot say the same.
And so, we find that nurses are not being shut out of national discourse because of something we lack; we are being shut out because something is lacking in journalism today. Those who claim to be curious are often only selectively curious. Those who claim to speak truth to power might, in fact, be blind to the ways in which they rest in their own power — and uphold harmful power structures.
Across the political spectrum, journalists project the confidence of people who hold the truth. In panel discussions, anchor monologues and reporting, they often start with what they know and confirm their knowing.
One thing nurses know, on the other hand, is how to recognize what we don't know. We could not possibly know the complex worlds from which our patients emerge, carrying their baggage, hope and trauma to the doors of our clinics and emergency rooms. So we ask.
The first step in the nursing process is 'assess.' To assess a situation means asking questions and receiving answers without judgement. It often means sitting with someone in narrative messiness, contradictions and non-answers. It can mean allowing someone to (at least for now) hold onto a false belief as they grapple with a painful or confusing new reality.
Nurses prioritize people's stated need, even if it's not our clinical priority. We validate people's concerns, even if we do not share those concerns.
Asking and listening without judgement is the first step in building trust. Yes, it is common for journalists to ask questions, but for many, judgement is inherent to their professional paradigm. The 'journalist-judge' already knows what their audience needs. So, they scrutinize the relevance of honest human responses, discarding the messy bits, carefully curating a gallery of their own design.
Nurses, on the other hand, practice informed consent. We lay out all the options, discuss the pros and cons, and let people decide their own course of action.
When it comes to giving advice, we use proven, science-based communication tactics to motivate behavior change — teachable tactics that journalistic interviewers could use, too. We collaborate and encourage; we don't tell or force. We know that telling a person stuck in an unhealthy thought or behavior pattern what to do will only lead to resentment or rejection.
We do not mock, interrupt or condescend. In fact, we aim to speak in accessible ways — to speak at a slow pace, define new terms, and confirm that people have heard and understood (using techniques like 'say back'). We aim to bring everyone along, not just those with university educations who can speak English or (in the case of broadcast news) process rapid speech between commercial breaks.
Finally, nurses stay, even when everyone else has left — even when there are no resources. Studies show we are often the last clinician to remain when hospitals and clinics fail, and when rural towns are left with no other healthcare infrastructure. We know it is cruel to see people suffering, offer hope and resources, and then take those resources away.
Nurses stay after journalists leave, too. Wildfires that rage across television screens, houses that float away, death tolls that are unprecedented rarely receive a follow-up by our colleagues who cover them. And how often does the coverage include an actionable take-away, such as a QR code for donations, phone numbers for help lines, or any mechanism for collective action?
The fact that journalists can hold captive to millions of viewers and readers and, quite often, not share anything actionable is unacceptable. You bring the horrors of this world into our lives and leave us with little more than political pseudo-solutions and bipartisan blame. Has this worked yet?
The fact is, newsrooms across the country are failing. Those that survive will be the ones who recognize it's time for a radical departure from business as usual. Good stories, gathered and told through a nursing lens, have the potential to heal our country. They might save our newsrooms, too.
Rose Hayes, RN, BSN, MA, is a nurse and a writer who helps scientists and clinicians to share their work with the public. Her opinions are her own and do not reflect those of any institutional affiliations.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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More information can be found on About obesity Obesity is a serious chronic, progressive, and complex disease that requires long-term management.1-3 One key misunderstanding is that this is a disease of just lack of willpower, when in fact there is underlying biology that may impede people with obesity from losing weight and keeping it off.2,3 Obesity is influenced by a variety of factors, including genetics, social determinants of health, and the environment.4,5 The prevalence of overweight and obesity is a public health issue that has severe cost implications to healthcare systems.6,7 In the US, about 40% of adults live with obesity.8 About NovoCare® Pharmacy NovoCare® Pharmacy provides cash-paying patients who have been prescribed Wegovy® with the ability to schedule shipments of their Wegovy® prescriptions directly to their home. 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Tell your healthcare provider if you feel your heart racing or pounding in your chest and it lasts for several minutes depression or thoughts of suicide. You should pay attention to any mental changes, especially sudden changes in your mood, behaviors, thoughts, or feelings. Call your healthcare provider right away if you have any mental changes that are new, worse, or worry you food or liquid getting into the lungs during surgery or other procedures that use anesthesia or deep sleepiness (deep sedation). Wegovy® may increase the chance of food getting into your lungs during surgery or other procedures. Tell all your healthcare providers that you are taking Wegovy® before you are scheduled to have surgery or other procedures The most common side effects of Wegovy® may include: nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, constipation, stomach (abdomen) pain, headache, tiredness (fatigue), upset stomach, dizziness, feeling bloated, belching, low blood sugar in people with type 2 diabetes, gas, stomach flu, heartburn, and runny nose or sore throat. Please see Medication Guide and Prescribing Information, including Boxed Warning, for Wegovy® at About Novo Nordisk Novo Nordisk is a leading global healthcare company that's been making innovative medicines to help people with diabetes lead longer, healthier lives for more than 100 years. This heritage has given us experience and capabilities that also enable us to drive change to help people defeat other serious chronic diseases such as obesity, rare blood, and endocrine disorders. We remain steadfast in our conviction that the formula for lasting success is to stay focused, think long-term, and do business in a financially, socially, and environmentally responsible way. With a US presence spanning 40 years, Novo Nordisk US is headquartered in New Jersey and employs over 10,000 people throughout the country across 12 manufacturing, R&D and corporate locations in eight states plus Washington DC. For more information, visit Facebook, Instagram, and X. Novo Nordisk is committed to the responsible use of our semaglutide-containing medicines which represent distinct products with different indications, dosages, prescribing information, titration schedules, and delivery forms. These products are not interchangeable and should not be used outside of their approved indications. Learn more at Contacts for further information Media:Liz Skrbkova (US)+1 609 917 0632USMediaRelations@ Ambre James-Brown (Global)+45 3079 9289Globalmedia@ Investors:Frederik Taylor Pitter (US) +1 609 613 0568fptr@ Jacob Martin Wiborg Rode (Global)+45 3075 5956jrde@ Sina Meyer (Global) +45 3079 6656 azey@ Ida Schaap Melvold (Global) +45 3077 5649 idmg@ Max Ung (Global)+45 3077 6414mxun@ References: 1. Kaplan LM, Golden A, Jinnett K, et al. Perceptions of barriers to effective obesity care: results from the national action study. Obesity. 2018;26(1):61-69. 2. Bray GA, Kim KK, Wilding JPH; World Obesity Federation. Obesity: a chronic relapsing progressive disease process. A position statement of the World Obesity Federation. Rev. 2017;18(7):715-723. 3. Garvey WT, Mechanick JI, Brett EM, et al. American association of clinical endocrinologists and American College of Endocrinology comprehensive clinical practice guidelines for medical care of patients with obesity. Endocr Pract. 2016;22 (Suppl 3):1-203. 4. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Adult obesity facts. Last accessed: June 2025. Available at: 5. World Obesity Federation. World Obesity Atlas 2023. Last accessed: June 2025. Available at: 6. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Risk Factors for Obesity. Last accessed: June 2025. Available at: 7. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Why it matters. Last accessed: June 2025. Available at: 8. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Obesity and Severe Obesity Prevalence in Adults: United States, August 2021–August 2023. Last accessed June 2025. Available at: View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE NOVO NORDISK INC. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
