Educational Media Reviews Online

That Spirit, That Thing Inside is a quietly forceful recruitment tool urging Latino and North American Indians to become nurses and is strongly recommended despite some limitations. A great motivational film for people who come from a background of poverty or migrant families, all nursing students, no matter their ethnic culture, should view this program. As the video notes, the Pew Foundation has said that the best health care is given by a person who understands their own culture and the cultures of the people they serve.

The people interviewed for this video were named but with the exception of one person there is no mention of their ethnic heritage. A Web search identified one interviewee, June Strickland, PhD RN, as Cherokee. Strickland addresses pressing issues for anyone considering a nursing career including health disparities, reasons for choosing nursing (she notes that nursing will not make you monetarily rich), and ethnic family structure considerations (the obligation of family is a constant struggle for students).

The vast majority of people interviewed for this video are Latino. Their stories of struggle over adversity make them amazing role models in any community. One Latino discusses the issue of nursing being a feminized profession and how his father had strong gender issues about his son becoming a nurse. A North American Indian woman reveals the prejudice she encounters against Indians in white hospitals. All their stories are very persuasive and feel very real which is one of the video’s great strengths.

The videography is fair but the color is very uneven. That Spirit, The Thing Inside is recommended not just for recruitment but for cultural competency in the classroom. This video should be in any library serving a nursing school or high school library where health care career recruitment is routine.

Awards:

• American Academy of Nursing Media Award