Letter from nurses at Masschusetts General to Sara Edwards

See referring piece

Dear Ms. Edwards:

I am writing to you on behalf of the nurses on Ellison 12, a Neuro/Oncology floor at Massachusetts General Hospital. We just read the article in today's Boston Herald regarding your walk on role on "ER." The comment "I look like I should be cleaning toilets" is inappropriate and uninformed. Although it may not be as glamorous as being an entertainment reporter, there is certainly more to nursing than "scrubbing floors." Nurses are highly educated, multi-disciplined, indispensable members of the health care team. We may not make a fashion statement while we are working, but we make an indelible mark in the lives of the patients for whom we care. Until you have held the hand of a dying woman or comforted a family in crisis, we feel you should reserve your comments about the nursing profession. In a time when hospitals are actively and desperately trying to recruit nurses, comments like your cause the general public to see nursing in a negative light. We invite you to spend a day with us so that you can see just how valuable nurses are as well as how valuable the housecleaning staff is in the hospital setting.

Sincerely,

[Nancy Kelly and] The Nursing Staff, Ellison 12, Mass General Hospital