Johnson & Johnson is now in its third century of supporting nurses and this month, after nearly three years of increasing pressure on the profession amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. Big Pharma is driving home the message: “Where would we be without nurses?”
In a new 30-second video posted on Twitter, the pharma giant shows a whole range of nurses around the U.S., putting on masks to work their shifts, asking the question: “Where would we be without nurses?” and describing members of the profession as “innovators, lifesavers, and fierce patient advocates.”
It shows the huge range of roles nurses undertake, from helping with mothers delivering their babies to easing the pain of those after surgery to “being there when no one else is,” as the narrator says, with images of nurses hugging patients who are struggling.
There has also this week been a five-minute segment on the "Today" program, which comes with J&J branding, that focuses on Wisconsin-based nurse Bre Loughlin, who founded the company Nurse Disrupted, a telehealth organization designed to boost accessibility and providing virtual care to vulnerable populations, especially during the pandemic.
J&J, which has its logo and branding at the end of the new Twitter video (and is tweeted from its corporate account), says it has been championing nurses since 1897 but has since 2001 been actively advocating the need for more nurses, coming with ads and promotions for the campaign.
It’s had many iterations since, and, a year ago to the month, J&J launched a digital and print campaign called “Nurses Rise to the Challenge Every Day” to celebrate nurses and the work they’ve done during the pandemic and beyond.
These latest efforts come at a time when burnout, anxiety and stress are running at alarmingly high levels, according to a report and survey out from the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses last fall, with the toll of the pandemic and shortages of nursing staff in the U.S. predominantly to blame.