ABSTRACT
The power of nursing imagery in producing a powerful stereotype to the public through a variety of media forms has been considered by a number of historians, but usually in relation to hospital rather than community nursing.1 District nursing represents one of the earliest home visiting services and it has developed as one of the most prominent in the public perception of community nursing. As an integral part of community nursing, it is subject to the same dilemmas regarding its function, direction, and focus. Unlike the practice nurse, the learning disability nurse, or the community mental health nurse, we have seen that the district nurse has a long tradition and history that influences the perceptions of colleagues, patients, and district nurses themselves with regard to their professional role.2 Furthermore, despite (or perhaps because of) the reorganisation of district nursing services since the 1960s, the image of district nursing has been questioned publicly with particular reference to changes both in practice and nurse-patient relationships. In this chapter we therefore consider the district nurse’s changing professional role through a number of representations in films and television. We compare these images with the more official views projected through textbooks and recruitment leaflets, asking how they reflect the public and private spheres dichotomy.
