Desperate Housewives belittle Pinoy Docs & Schools

[tagonurse]

On the September 30 episode of ABC's Desperate Housewives, Teri Hatcher's character Susan made a rather insensitive reference to Filipino doctors. The remark, made by Hatcher’s character in a scene with a doctor, was, “Okay, before we go any further, can I check those diplomas? Because I would just like to make sure they are not from some med school in the Philippines."

Turns out her doctor graduated from Harvard.

I believe this was an insulting statement not only to our medical schools, but to all Filipino medical professionals around the world!

They may be ignorant of the fact that our doctors and nurses are among the best in the world. Philippine medical schools like the University of the Philippines is world renowned. In fact, students from all over the world benefit from its world class education. As a healthcare professional in the US for over ten years now, I have met and worked with top notch specialists who were graduates from various Philippine Medical Schools.

This singling out of Filipinos by this show is an outrage, and ABC should make a public apology. I advice all Filipinos around the world to boycott this show.

[Alibangbang]

Hi tagonurse,

I haven’t seen, not a single episode of this show. I don’t like the format snippets I’ve seen romanticized and glamorized adultery! I’m schooled the old fashion way so this kind of “entertainment” is not my cup of tea.

All the more na dili ako mo tan-aw be it current or syndicated reruns tungod nan inin paga laong mo.

Ka insensitive astan ignoramos isab nan script writer…All he/she need is to look around kay kon wara pan mga medical professional Filipinos nganhi who will take care of their medical needs with utmost care?

[Alibangbang]

Ops... as always my fingers run faster than my brain. Dili kosa ma edit an ako post oh well...

[sapaalaska]

May ako inkadumduman at one point na yaglaong ako sa ako boss na yakakaon ako nan ido nan bata pa ako kay mag sa lagi himoon nan pulutan. Tapos nan min tunga yadton kan Joan Rivers comment, min laong siya na motoo na siya na an filipino not all mo eat nan dog. kay diin sa sab yaon makuha nan taga US kon waray yag input or yaresearch nila tapos mag dayon sab himoon nan punchline.

amoda isab ini kuman, inhimo sab na punchline an med diploma. kay sa TFC in feature yaon sa the correspondents ba yadto or kontrobersyal na makapalit kaw nan diploma bisan uno na korso ug school sa roxas ba adto. tapos pwede da sab kabaydan an school makagraduate na kaw. madayaw gani kay yaraid na nila.

mag sa lamang malindas an tanan.

but anyway, yag apologize na sa an ABC.

Abbs, dili sab ako kanahan nan ini na show hasta sex in the city....

peace all.

[Alibangbang]

I guess this is all over now. Below is a forward I just received.

"Filipino bloggers react to ‘Desperate Housewives’ remark
10/03/07

FILIPINO bloggers are reacting to a remark made by one of the characters in a recent episode of television series “Desperate Housewives.”
While many condemned the remark as a racist slur and called for a boycott of the show, others suggested that people write to the producers of the show to complain.

The Filipino bloggers were reacting to a remark by the character Susan Mayer Delfino, played by Teri Hatcher, who was objecting to being checked by a doctor until she was sure of the doctor’s credentials.
“Can I check those diplomas? Coz I would just like to make sure they are not from some med school in the Philippines,” Delfino told her gynecologist during a scene in a hospital where she went to ask why her menstrual cycle was off for several months. (Editor’s note: Click on Ruben Nepales’ blog post to hear an MP3 file of the dialogue between Delfino and her doctor.)

Filipino blogger Mike in Manila agreed that the remark was unfair and racist, and that every Filipino had the right to get upset.
“So yes, do complain do get upset and do remark that they should do something about it to make it up to the millions of nurses and doctors from the Philippines. Or just not watch the show- boycott it. But this is hardly a national insult more of a call to DECS [education department], DOH [health department], and, Medical Schools, to awaken and be aware of the need to clarify issues past of problems. A call to be aware of the problem which Mr. Nadal does, and makes others at ABC TV aware. It is also an image problem that needs to be addressed by CHED the DECS and others like the DOH. ‘Di po ba?” the blogger wrote.

A scandal hit the nursing board examinations last year after some examinees exposed alleged massive cheating.

An e-mail from a certain Kevin Nadal, a Filipino performance artist, is now circulating on the Internet encouraging Filipinos to sign an online petition to protest the remarks against Filipino doctors.

“This type of derogatory remark is not only unnecessary and hurtful, but is also unfounded, considering the presence of Filipinos and Filipino Americans in the health care industry… To belittle the education, experience, or value of Filipino Americans in health care is disrespectful and plain and simply ignorant,” Nadal wrote in his e-mail message now being passed on by other Filipinos through mailing lists and blogs.

“As Filipino Americans, we need to band together to ensure that this type of hateful message is not allowed to continue on our television and radio airwaves,” he added.

A search on Google would indicate the reactions of the Filipino bloggers.
Filipino doctor Martin Bautista, who practices in the US, said that Filipino physicians are in an uproar over the episode of “Desperate Housewives.”
In his blog entry “Who’s Desperate?” Bautista revealed that Filipino doctors in the US have called for a boycott of the television show and demanded an apology from the producers of the show.

A class action suit is also being weighed, he said.
“I totally understand the outrage considering all the racial, academic and financial obstacles we all had to hurdle. But let’s examine this closer. Do I expect to lose a single patient in rural Oklahoma as a result of this comment? Are we Filipino doctors irreparably harmed? I don’t think we doctors worked and studied very hard just to become excessively threatened by insensitive and mediocre scriptwriting. We should have a fair idea of how much we are truly worth.

“I admit I used to be awed by Harvard and company. Not anymore. I now know it isn’t all in the school, no matter how plush their classrooms are and how much cutting-edge technology is available in the laboratories or even in faculty members brimming with degrees. A physician’s competence ultimately depends on one’s capacity to learn arising from a deep compassion to care for our patients,” he continued.

“So while I am not happy about the comment I will continue to be at the endoscopy unit at 6:45 am and see patients the whole day and get on with my practice and give the best patient care that I can. I don’t intend to be bothered by those who will allow DH to influence their choice of physicians,” he said.

The Palace has said that it will ask the show producers to apologize for the racial slur in the popular US television show.
Filipino blogger Misteryosa also did not hold back words.

“Filipinos are talented and smart (but kinda stupid, yeah), and I can’t understand why a show like Desperate Housewives would stoop so low as to offhandedly throw an insult just like that,” Misteryosa wrote in her blog.
Other bloggers provided a link to the YouTube video clip of the controversial remark made by Hatcher’s character"

Amo lagi Sap. Sus ma imagine ko gayud dayon an disapproving look ni Mader. Nan didi sila nan una, bisan yang gongis na ako tapos ad-on kami tan-aw nan salida sa TV mo laong sa dayon yadto kon yaoy dili niya ganahan "sus uno itom Ma panga law-ay balhina iton salida basin ad-uy gera (war movies) adto dakan kita sa gera.

[kampanaryo_spy]

ABB,

there's an outrage, yes! and rightly so!

i've read in yesterday's Inquirer that this is not the first time that "Desperate Housewives" is embroiled in a racial slur.

the show's writer must be informed that filipino medical workers are doing well in all parts of the world. as a matter of fact, Lily Lara has recently been given the distinction as one of the "Top 10 Nurses in the United States."

but most importantly the Desperate('s) writer should know that our very own St. Luke's Hospital is better than 95% of all hospitals in the US in terms of quality of service and equipment. and that's a fact s/he (the writer) can very well validate!

here's hoping ryan seacrest would ditch teri hatcher for this, if he hasn't already.....hahahaha joke!

SAPS,

as to being dogeaters, we cannot complain because it's generally true. joan rivers must have taken the cue from jessica hagedorn who wrote "The Dogeaters," a highly acclaimed book that has become a bestseller in the US and other parts of the world.



here's what the new york state writer's institute said about jessica hagedorn and "Dogeaters:'

Born and raised in the Philippines, Jessica Hagedorn is celebrated for her bold, energetic, and tragicomic examinations of Filipino and Filipino-American experience in a wide variety of genres, including fiction, theater, poetry, and performance art. Her work frequently centers on the lives of social outsiders living in male-dominated cultures, most of them women, many of them artists, and some of them prostitutes, drug addicts, and drag queens.

Hagedorn captured national attention with her first novel "Dogeaters" (1990), an angry tale of social injustice set in the Philippines during the corrupt and bloodthirsty reign of Fernand and Imelda Marcos. The novel was nominated for the National Book Award, and received the American Book Award of the Before Columbus Foundation.

[sapaalaska]

[quote="kampanaryo_spy"]ABB,

]SAPS,

as to being dogeaters, we cannot complain because it's generally true. joan rivers must have taken the cue from jessica hagedorn who wrote "The Dogeaters," a highly acclaimed book that has become a bestseller in the US and other parts of the world.



K_spy,

as to fake diploma, inhimo nan punchline kay true sa isab na mapalit an diploma per documentary show on TFC. i bet an sunod na himoon na punchline yadton cheating sa nurses exam.

peace all.

[sughac]

ABB,

]SAPS,

as to being dogeaters, we cannot complain because it's generally true. joan rivers must have taken the cue from jessica hagedorn who wrote "The Dogeaters," a highly acclaimed book that has become a bestseller in the US and other parts of the world.



K_spy,

as to fake diploma, inhimo nan punchline kay true sa isab na mapalit an diploma per documentary show on TFC. i bet an sunod na himoon na punchline yadton cheating sa nurses exam.

peace all.

let us not be surprised because this world is full of treachery. fraud ? it's everywhere!! though ,it comes on a various forms and degrees. there is no perfect society except for the society that has yet to come, where, there will be no more tears,sickness,bills to pay and struggles.it's a life of everlasting joy. just be prepared !!

[iCeprIncEsS]

it should open the eyes of our government to do something about the educational system..i hope, as a redeeming value, that it will put pressure on the government considering that the diploma mill has gotten international fame.

[Insomada]

Bravo everyone!

Last Friday my better half left for work late and he happened to watch the news about this on television. He told me the newscaster said something like, "Filipinos abroad demanded an apology from the Desperate Housewives cast for belittling Filipino doctors by the mention in Teri Hatcher's dialogue saying.............."

Upon knowing this thru our web, I immediately surf the "Reactions for Desperate Housewives" until I came to read people's blogs about the subject. I then send the link to my friends so they could register their names in support for Filipino Medical professionals clamouring for an apology. I'm sure it's now in circulation here in Australia.


Sug,

What I'm excited about is a society where there is no more bills to pay. Haaaaaayyyyy when is this gonna happen? Magdilang anghel ka sana.

[cordapya]

Bravo everyone
Sug,

What I'm excited about is a society where there is no more bills to pay. Haaaaaayyyyy when is this gonna happen? Magdilang anghel ka sana.

O yeah - ISOM. SUG is right. Ultimate > destination >- HEAVEN, is the name of the place. BUT!!the question is - Are you ready? Kay may isa ka pari (Priest) yag sangyaw (sermon). Tapos iya inkotana an mga katawhan. " Sin-oy gusto mokato sa langit?" Everybody raised their right hands . And the priest said: " Okay. For you to enter the kingdom of HEAVEN, one must die first. Who wants to die?" Nih isa, waray min-alsa nan alima. La-ong nan Pari: "Ay! na uno".