A Nurse Is Being Dragged For Her TikTok Suggesting Abstinence Is The Best Preventative For STIs
"Where did this regime of evil TikTok nurses even come from?"
A popular content creator on TikTok is being criticised for her video about abstinence and STI prevention.
Nurse Holly, as she’s known online, is a popular TikTok personality with over 1.5 million followers on the app. Holly is a Tennessee-based registered nurse and often creates videos about her chosen profession, ranging from patient interactions to nursing school content.
However, a now-deleted TikTok of Holly sharing the “best way to prevent STDs” has landed her in hot water. The video in question features Nurse Holly claiming that “waiting for sex until marriage” is the key to sexually transmitted disease prevention.
if i go to get tested and the nurse tell me i should have waited till marriage SOMEONE is getting knocked tf out pic.twitter.com/cVnNENVIBi
— margo ♍︎ (@dumbbitchmargo) January 10, 2020
Before the video was deleted, @dumbbitchmargo uploaded it to Twitter where it quickly went viral. “If I go to get tested and the nurse tell[s] me I should have waited ’til marriage, SOMEONE is getting knocked tf out,” Margo captioned the video.
Criticism started to pour in over Nurse Holly’s clearly religious approach to her medical advice, which another nurse claimed was irresponsible and unprofessional. The opposing nurse also claimed that Nurse Holly’s religious bias totally went against the nursing code of ethics.
In Australia, conscientious objection, the act of refusing to participate in procedures based on personal religious, moral and ethical beliefs, is permitted. However, spreading false information based on religious beliefs is not.
Nurse Holly explained to BuzzFeed News that her intention with the video was only to “promote positivity and healthy lifestyles” to the “little girls” who follow her. But despite Nurse Holly’s intention, the spread of false information is dangerous to those unknowledgeable.
While having only one partner can reduce the risk of sexually transmitted diseases, there is no guarantee that the person you choose marry is free of STIs. Instead, a more effective method in reducing the likelihood of catching an STI is by using protection like condoms, which are 98% effective.
People noted that preaching for abstinence doesn’t provide any valid advice to those seeking medical opinion, and found flaws in Nurse Holly’s suggestion.
Best way to prevent a flu is to live in an isolation chamber. Can we just assume that people are going to give each other diseases and let us have healthcare?
— No war with Iran! (@KnittingQueer) January 12, 2020
Does waiting until marriage make you immune? LMAO
Like husbands or wives must not be capable of cheating and contacting and std if they’re married lol.— amy_babby (@aMy_bAbbY) January 12, 2020
Ok I took your advice and waited but turns out my husband has the clap what do I do now
— hollis (@Hollysauce7) January 12, 2020
Nurse Holly Just Really Loves God
After the abstinence video went viral, a number of God-related videos from Nurse Holly’s page were uncovered. In one video, she shared the ways she deals with stress and anxiety, while dressed in her nursing scrubs. The cure? “Lots of water, plenty of sleep, exercise, and a whole lot of Jesus!”
For most people, such a proud show of religious bias would be a cause of concern, but some internet sleuths deduced that Nurse Holly actually works at a special hospital. Holly’s alleged employer, Saint Thomas Health is a Tennessee faith-based, not-for-profit healthcare system, and so are more likely to accept Nurse Holly’s religious approach.
The Internet And Their Newfound Fear Of Nurses
However this is not a sentiment shared online, with people claiming that TikTok has actually made them fearful of nurses. This is because the trend of nurses using TikTok has only worked to expose their clear bias and judgements in how they treat patients.
Tik Tok’s biggest effect on me personally has been making me terrified of every single nurse I see. https://t.co/GY458dEk8Q
— Sylvia Plath OnlyFans (@saintknives) January 12, 2020
these dumbass nurse tic toks make me never wanna deal with a medical person again because all they’ve shown me is that they judge you for EVERYTHING you come in for and do it shamelessly by outing themselves on these apps. get a new career https://t.co/DEG7cqAn3s
— spacebøss ✨🌙🔜GET🦋LUCKY☘️🍀 (@AllieLayne5) January 11, 2020
Another pointed out that the theme of “evil TikTok nurses” has recently become a trend with the Nurse Holly debacle being added to the fold. Nurse Holly follows Danyelle Rose, a nurse who faced backlash at the end of 2019 for making TikTok’s implying that patients fake their ailments in hospital.
where did this regime of evil tik tok nurses even come from https://t.co/Eccoln6AD2
— ♡ snitchery ♡ (@snitchery) January 12, 2020
However, the “evil” nurses on TikTok are an outlier to the caring men and women who care for their patients without judgement. To combat the Nurse Holly energy being spread online, people have begun sharing examples of positive nurses with quality advice to follow on the app including @eatroamheal, @shesinscrubs and @hoodratdiego.
now THIS is a medical tiktok i can get behind instead of those bitch ass nurses shaming people https://t.co/IVXZODdl3a
— ♡baby b0nes♡ (@baby_b0nes) January 12, 2020
healthcare professionals that don’t let judgment guide their practice let me hear y’all make some noise!!! 🩺 #NurseTwitter pic.twitter.com/JCxp8UEJRe
— Diego (@hoodratdiego) January 13, 2020
Junkee has reached out to Nurse Holly for comment.
Update: 16/01/2020
Junkee reached out to Ascension, the organisation responsible for Saint Thomas Health, for comment and they responded with: “Ascension Saint Thomas is aware of the video circulating on Twitter. The video’s creator is not a current associate of Ascension Saint Thomas and the views expressed in her posts do not represent those of our organisation. Ascension Saint Thomas is dedicated to providing compassionate care to the communities we serve.”