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Open Letter #15 to Grey's Anatomy

Dear "Grey's Anatomy" Producers:

I am writing to urge you to improve the generally poor portrayal of nursing on "Grey's Anatomy."

During the first half of the seventh season (2010-2011), many episodes illustrated the two main stereotypes that the show continues to reinforce: that nurses are physician handmaidens, and that they are low-skilled workers worthy of contempt. As always, the show's roughly 15 main characters--all surgeons--provided virtually all the health care that mattered, including vital care that nurses do in real life.

Three November 2010 episodes illustrated the show's occasionally sympathetic but mostly contemptuous portrayal of nursing. The November 18 episode includes a limited but fairly good portrayal of a nurse--as a patient's mother. This nurse is knowledgeable and a strong advocate for her critically ill son. Surprisingly, the skilled surgical resident Meredith Grey treats the nurse's views with respect. I thank you for this helpful but limited portrayal.

Unfortunately, the show has never had expert nurses act as clinical colleagues of the physician characters on a regular basis. Instead, nurse characters are generally limited to holding and fetching objects and saying "yes, doctor!" Meanwhile, the dominant physician characters spend a lot of time doing nursing work. In the November 18 episode, Meredith and fellow resident Alex Karev appear to be the only hospital workers who provide any significant care to the nurse's son--no practicing nurse appears. The episodes airing November 4 and 11 likewise showcase physician nursing, as residents Cristina Yang and Jackson Avery provide skilled monitoring of patients. The obvious effect is that physicians get credit for the work of nurses.

And the November 4, 2010 episode includes another of the show's occasional naughty nurse insults. In that episode, Mark Sloane says that Callie Torres deserves better than "off-brand crap" cupcakes for her bon voyage party because it's not just a "baby shower for some nurse who couldn't keep her knees together."

You can see a full analysis of these episodes at http://www.truthaboutnursing.org/news/2010/nov/greys.html

I urge you to consider the effect "Grey's" has on the many millions of people who watch it all over the world. Please introduce nurse characters to do the nursing work, and show some understanding that nurses are professionals with years of college-level education who save lives and improve outcomes every day.

Thank you for your consideration.

Sandy Summers, RN, MSN, MPH
Executive Director
The Truth About Nursing
203 Churchwardens Rd.
Baltimore MD 21212
410-323-1100
ssummers@truthaboutnursing.org