"Heroine" - A moving film that focuses on nursing care. The surgical team provides information

How realistically does the film "Heldin" portray the everyday life of a carer? Are there any scenes that seem particularly authentic?

Well, yes: the patient situations and the relatives with their diagnoses and demands certainly seem realistic. The respective professional actions are also portrayed authentically to some extent. We have all sung a calming song or charmingly asked relatives to leave the room for the sake of the patient's peace and quiet.

Unfortunately, however, the film focuses very much on the burden of the nursing heroine, who somehow tries to cope with the shift to the best of her ability. I can only speak for our team that such shifts do occur from time to time, but they remain isolated cases - we make sure we have a healthy staffing density to avoid such situations. The management of the Department of Surgery is also well aware that we have to take great care to keep carers in the profession - otherwise we won't have anyone to care for us later on.

Which challenges shown in the film do you experience yourself in your day-to-day work? Are there any aspects that you think were exaggerated or portrayed too dramatically?

I'm sure some of us have thought about throwing a "CHF 15,000 watch" out of the window - as shown in the film - even if we haven't done it. There are definitely challenging situations. Here we rely heavily on our team resilience. This was also portrayed realistically in the film when the two colleagues laughed heartily about the situation they experienced. In real life, however, we would have reflected on the patient's behaviour and responded more to the cynicism of the patient with a malignant disease and interpreted their communication accordingly.

It also seems unprofessional to us that the patient, who later died after resuscitation, was the last on the round. In real life, she would have been one of the first patients. In our interpretation, the priorities were not set correctly here.

Does the film realistically reflect the emotional and physical strain of the nursing profession? What important topics do you think are missing?

For us, the balance between the portrayal of the beautiful moments of care and the stress caused by time pressure, system-related environmental factors and the demands of patients and relatives is not shown in a healthy balance. The protagonist is portrayed here as a "victim" of the system rather than a "heroine" who can at least help control the rhythm. Unfortunately, we know from many colleagues in other hospitals that this portrayal seems more realistic for them than for our ward. Of course, we are sometimes driven, especially when the ward is busy or when we have challenging patient situations on shift. But these extreme cases, as portrayed in the film, are really the exception for us.

That's why we think it's a shame that the film doesn't emphasise the positive aspects of the profession. Nursing receives a great deal of appreciation from patients and relatives and, in a healthy hospital, from the entire hospital system. It is a wonderful profession to help people in emergency situations; to accompany people through exceptional situations and to provide support. But this film will probably not really help to inspire more people to take up this wonderful profession.

How well is the relationship between carers, patients and doctors portrayed? Does it reflect your experience?

I like the scene in which the doctor stands protectively in front of the nurse after the resuscitation. That was very exemplary. We also discussed the scene in the team where the doctor avoids communicating with the patient and puts it off until the next day. We all agreed that we would have stood up for the patient here too, so that the patient communication would have been carried out after all. What is beautifully portrayed in the film is the collegial behaviour of the nursing staff towards each other. This is extremely important - especially when you're working such a stressful shift. It has to go hand in hand: in the film, the night shift has finished the round of the late shift. A good, harmonious team in which you encourage each other, exchange ideas and reflect professionally and at the same time have fun together - that is extremely important.

Do you think "Heldin" is a film that gives outsiders a realistic picture of everyday hospital life? Or would you add or correct something?

Perhaps the film will actually make some patients rethink their expectations. The carer is usually the first person to be confronted with patients' displeasure and then almost reflexively begins to apologise - this was aptly portrayed in the film, by the way. We apologise far too often for things that have gone wrong, even though we are not directly to blame because we are the ones who are most directly confronted with the patients.

Would you recommend the film "Heldin" to others?

Basically yes - but please not for highly motivated trainees! Not that they will be put off by the profession, possibly change their mind and decide against one of the most beautiful professions in the world.

The film undoubtedly provides a good basis for discussion about our profession for laypeople. It can also serve to move away from the classic image of the "caring nurse" and familiarise people with our profession, our professional skills and our scope of action in the recovery process of patients.