Send a letter to the CEO and Board at Mattel!

Send a letter to the CEO and Board of Directors of Mattel!


Subject: (please sum up your feelings here*
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Message:*	Dear Robert A. Eckert, Chairman and CEO, and Board of Directors, Mattel, Inc.: I am deeply concerned that Mattel has placed a product on U.S. store shelves--the Furryville "Nurse Quacktitioner"--that denigrates nurse practitioners, and that the company has refused to withdraw the dolls from the market. I urge you to do so, or to allow retailers to sell them back to you, as Wal-Mart has already agreed to do. Until you take such action, I will buy no Mattel product, and I will urge my family and friends to do the same. This extends to the full range of Mattel items, including Fisher-Price, American Girl, Hot Wheels, Matchbox, and Barbie. Selling a doll called "Nurse Quacktitioner" would seem to reflect little regard for nurses or public health. The name suggests that nurse practitioners (NPs) are "quacks," a term that has long been understood to refer to untrained persons who pretend to be physicians and dispense medical treatment. Unfortunately, the main professional stereotype of NPs has been that they are untrained persons who pretend to be physicians and dispense medical treatment. Indeed, the president of the American Medical Association has recently been quoted in prominent press pieces questioning the quality of NP care and suggesting that NPs require physician supervision. These claims have no scientific basis, but they illustrate the entrenched interests and widespread biases that NPs confront. These are problems your dolls are likely to exacerbate. Nurse practitioners are highly trained professionals who practice autonomously in a variety of settings, including major teaching hospitals. The typical NP has Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees in nursing, and many NPs have doctoral level education. A vast body of research shows that NP care is at least as good as that provided by physicians <http://www.truthaboutnursing.org/faq/apn_md_relative_merits.html>. NPs are skilled at cost-effective preventative care, management of acute and chronic disease, and health maintenance. Because many NPs focus on underserved poor and rural communities, they are a vital health resource for millions of people who would otherwise receive little or no health care at all. The Nurse Quacktitioner is a problem because research shows that even fictional media products affect how people think and act with regard to health care <http://www.truthaboutnursing.org/faq/hollywood_research.html>. In particular, it is unfortunate that a product that seems to be directed mainly at girls who have yet to choose their careers presents this mocking vision of nurses. In view of the nursing shortage that continues to claim lives worldwide, selling this doll is not a constructive way to make money. I understand that Mattel will no longer make or distribute the dolls, and that the company has expressed regret for "upsetting" NPs. I appreciate that, but as long as the dolls remain in circulation, their pernicious effects will continue. Mattel's assurances that it values nurses and its commendable support for children's hospitals are also irrelevant to the message consumers receive from "Nurse Quacktitioner" dolls. Do you think many people will see the dolls and say, "well, I know Mattel has that hospital in LA, so this adorable "quack" collectible says nothing about whether NPs provide high quality health care"? I look forward to hearing that you will cause the Nurse Quacktitioner doll to be withdrawn from all retail locations immediately.
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