The Nurse review: Shocking retelling of real-life murderous nurse who got only 12 years in jail

3.5/5

Story: When nursing school fresher Pernille Kurzmann (Fanny Louise Bernth) joins the Nykøbing Falster Hospital, she is initially paired with the department’s star nurse, Christina Aistrup Hansen (Josephine Park) and becomes one half of the dream team in emergency care. But when seemingly healthy patients begin to develop cardiac issues for no apparent reason during their shift, with several succumbing to it despite medical intervention, Pernille thinks something’s off. And when she finally realizes that her ‘partner’ has been signing off on way too many deaths, she decides to dig further. That’s not going to be easy when the perpetrator is much loved in the department. Knowing that her word will not be taken seriously unless she catches Christina red-handed, Pernille sets off on her mission.

Review: When it comes to getting health care, as much as you trust your doctor, you ought to trust the nursing staff even more, because they are the ones administering the recommended care after all. In the years between 2012 and 2015, several patients at the Nykøbing Falster Hospital thought that they were entrusting their lives in the care of one of the best nurses on staff – Christine Aistrup Hansen. Turns out, she was an excellent care-giver with a murderous bent as well, owing to a personality disorder that made her seek attention.

Night shifts with Christina were always full of drama, with her ready to jump into the thick of things and be lauded for her timely intervention. As far as her colleagues and hospital authorities thought, Christina was an excellent nurse, who’d pick up on the cardiac distress of patients and swing into action, including physically violent CPR, till the attending physician had a good enough rhythm to shock the patient back to normal. Some were successful, but more often than not, patients succumbed. No one suspected a thing, even when the patients had no history of heart disease. Even in the death an elderly patient where it was ascertained to be due to an overdose of two drugs, the hospital ruled that he probably snuck into the medicine room and injected it himself. Turns out, Christina would administer those drugs and then wait around to try and be saviour.

The four-part Danish mini-series currently streaming in Netflix is a retelling of the events leading to Christina’s arrest. Sadly, though, the charges against Christina were only four cases of manslaughter, after Pernille saw her inject the drug during a shift together and was able to guide doctors to revive a patient. She was convicted for life initially, which was reduced to 12 years by a higher court, meaning that it won’t be long before the woman, who has probably killed innumerable patients between 2012 and 2015, is free again. If it is any consolation to the kith and kin of her victims, she will never be allowed to work as a nurse again. But she is not going to be held accountable for any of her other crimes, ever. It was too little, too late.

The Nurse is eerily similar to The Good Nurse in that they are both about murderous heathcare providers Charles Cullen, though, established himself as a mercy killer, putting severely ill patients out of their misery, Christina was driven by the need to put herself in the spotlight. But the bigger and more problematic similarity is that both were allowed to get away with murder for so long and both were caught way too late, after several lives had been lost. The show doesn’t focus on the subsequent investigation or court case against Christina, keeping the narrative strictly to the what, where, and how of her modus operandi.

Verdict: At four episodes of about 50 minutes each, this is the perfect length for a show of this nature. And since it is Danish and you will anyway be relying on subtitles, you can crank up the speed to 1.25 or even 1.5 and get it over quickly. It’s a decent one-time watch, a chilling reminder that someone like Christina Aistrup operated unhindered for years. One can only hope that after watching these true crime shows, not only do people become more vigilant and aware and hold healthcare professionals accountable for perceived failings, but that hospital authorities value patients more than their stocks.