“The American Nurse” documentary to be released in May

A film that seeks to change how people think about nurses?! No, it’s not a dream…The American Nurse, a documentary about five nurses and the patients they treat across the country, will be released this May!

The official release introduces you to the nurses featured:

Jason Short drives up a creek to reach a home-bound cancer patient in Appalachia. Tonia Faust runs a prison hospice program where inmates serving life sentences care for their fellow inmates as they’re dying. Naomi Cross coaches patient Becky, an ovarian cancer survivor, through the Caesarean delivery of her son. Sister Stephen runs a nursing home filled with goats, sheep, llamas and chickens where the entire nursing staff comes together to sing to a dying resident. And Brian McMillion, an Army veteran and former medic, rehabilitates wounded soldiers returning from war.

The world premiere of the film is set to take place May 7–during Nurses Week!–at the American Film Institute’s AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center in Silver Spring, Md. The five featured nurses also will attend the screening and participate in a discussion and Q&A with the filmmakers.

The feature-length documentary was made by Carolyn Jones and was born from her award-winning book, The American Nurse: Photographs and Interviews by Carolyn Jones, which we wrote about last year.

“This film is a celebration of the intimate, expert, steadfast, and compassionate care that nurses give to their patients each and every day,” ANF Chairperson Joyce Fitzpatrick, RN, MBA, PhD, said in a news release about the film. “Through the artistry and cinematic clarity of Carolyn Jones, that reality comes alive.”

Following the premiere, The American Nurse will be released in select theaters nationwide beginning May 8. The documentary’s updating list of theaters and show times are available on the official site.