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Hemera | Thinkstock
Dr. Mehmet Oz inadvertently ignited a firestorm by choosing to feature six sexy “nurses” in a recent weight loss segment.
The November 4th show included an appearance by Angel Williams, a woman who claims she lost 200 pounds by dancing. Dr. Oz — dressed in conservative blue scrubs — asked Williams to demonstrate her dance moves. Williams unbuttoned the top of her white dress, donned a nurse hat and started gyrating. Dr. Oz then invited five “fellow nurses” to come down and join them.
Nurses around the country were not amused. The Truth About Nursing almost immediately wrote a press release describing the show as “an amazingly concentrated package of harmful nursing stereotypes,” including “the naughty nurse, the low-skilled physician handmaiden, and the idea that nursing is for females living in a past era.” The group also initiated a letter writing campaign that asked nurses to “tell Dr. Oz that nurses are skilled, autonomous health professionals.”
Other nurses and nursing organizations, including the American Nurses Association, expressed their disapproval as well.
A month later, Dr. Oz has issued an apology. He released a written statement apologizing for “any hurt feelings” and said that he “holds nures in the highest regard as they save lives and heal patients.” The statement further said that, “any attempt at humour should never call into question Dr. Oz’s utmost respect for the nurses with whom he works and has lauded in other shows.”
What do you think of Dr. Oz’s apology? Too little, too late? Or was the whole controversy a lot of to-do about nothing?
Editor’s note: The video of the dancing nurses has been removed from this news item as it no longer seems to be available on the Dr. Oz website.
