What Did You Just Say, Teri Hatcher ?

I am sure this episode of Desperate Housewives was alluding to the Nursing Boards brouhaha in the country, but to say it like the entire show (yes the entire show, meaning producers, writers, directors, actors, and whoever has anything to do with it) means to undermine the capabilities of Filipino and Philippine-trained medical professionals is more revolting than Susan/Teri’s harassment by the idea of menopause. For a show with an international following, including desperate housewives in the Philippines and such who feel like they can actually empathize with the show’s femme fatales, I believe they have an obligation to take into account the cultural sensitivities of their audience. I’m not being balat sibuyas (onion-skinned; overly sensitive). As much as I can, I try to comprehend nuances of American culture, too. Or any foreign culture, for that matter. If only to survive watching what they convey as true and universal, and modern.

I am offended, because I learned my profession in the Philippines, and I refuse to be told that all my hard work and sacrifice amounts to nothing more than mediocre, if not questionable. Specially if these impressions come from those who fail to see from my end, or at least check, and don’t know what they are talking about. My textbooks came from the US of A, if saying so is any help to Teri’s understanding.

I can’t even speak for the millions of Filipino medical workers in America and all over the world, whose professionalism and skill have made them prime catch. And what of the thousands of foreign students who come in droves to train in the Philippines?

So mind rephrasing what you have just said, Teri Hatcher?

Or you can say sorry.


i am just disappointed at some who easily dismiss the issue as something common and expected out of a comedy show. some find it OA for reacting to a line taken out of context, that it was wrong to see it as a generalization by the show. well, if one is only to read it as it is, ” some med school from the Philippines“, it does seem harmless, legit even. in the sense that it only alluded to “some” (such as perhaps the diploma mills). it also doesn’t hit us Filipinos as a race, referring only to medical schools. and because that line came from a distressed character.

HOWEVER, viewing and listening to the clip gives one another picture. the same line could take another meaning. and it did. i reviewed the clip several times, and that’s how it came across… it was a sweeping generalization about those trained in Philippine schools… Filipino or not, doctors, nurses, or any other allied health professions. even if it came from a distressed Susan.

By J.A. Medical Practitioner in the U.S.
(Pictured: Mickey with Teri Hatcher: Disney is the parent company of ABC)