The Road Less Travelled

Dear Dear Provost Amrhein and Medical School Dean Marrie,

We are both graduate students in the nursing Masters program at the University of Western Ontario, in London. We have come across the article in the Edmonton Journal, which addressed the MedShow, and more specifically the song degrading nurses. We are both deeply appalled by those who performed the 'song' and those who organized an event which sponsors sexist and derogatory content. That type of 'humor' is deeply offensive not only to all nurses (which include men too), but to women in general. Nurses are well-educated and intelligent people. Similarly, we are both almost certain that nurses have helped shape and orient every one of the medical students and clinical clerks at the University of Alberta in their training to become fully fledged Medical Doctors.

The fact that the MedShow ‘song’ lyrics referred to nurses as bitches and whores is an appalling accusation. No woman deserves to be called a bitch or a whore, regardless if the intent of the production was done in ‘tongue & cheek.’ Words of that caliber are words that promote violence towards women. Although we do believe the group of medical students who created and presented this ‘song’ are ‘normally a good group of students’ (paraphrasing the dean of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Alberta), it is evident that there was a significant lack the critical insight towards the repercussions of such blasphemous statements contained within the song.

For instance, in a survey completed by Kettl, Siberski, Hischmann, and Wood (1993), they found that nearly 40% of nursing and occupational health students had been victims of sexual harassment while practicing in the clinical environment. A large coping strategy by many of the participants in this study included ignoring the behaviours or joking about it – both unacceptable strategies. Nurses are not the only profession vulnerable to sexual harassment in the workplace. Frank, Brogan, and Schiffman (1998) reported that over 47% of female medical students had reported gender-based harassment in their training.

We consider the ‘Nurses’ Song’ sexual harassment as it promotes violence against women. We also feel that productions as such provide good evidence that sexism is not a topic or concern that is being taken seriously in healthcare.

We sincerely hope that the performers and the MedShow sponsors/organizers deeply regret the decisions made concerning the ‘Nurses’ Song’ – professional horizontal violence is completely unacceptable. Furthermore, we hope that there will be significant changes made for any future event held at the University of Alberta under the MedShow title.

Finally, we feel that as a gesture of good faith, presenting a community or university Women’s group with a donation from the funds raised in the 2005 MedShow would show that the individuals responsible are dedicated to upholding and becoming proactive in gender-based violence.

We welcome your correspondence.

Shannon (last name) & Richard (last name)

RN, BScN, MScN (c)