2026 Nurses Week and a Review of The Pitt Season 2

 

The International Council of Nurses (ICN) officially announced the Nurses Day theme for the 2026 Nurses Week (May 6-12) as: “Our Nurses. Our Future. Empowered Nurses Save Lives.”

As a newly retired nurse educator with 35 years of Emergency Nursing experience, I was excited to watch the most authentic medical show ever, the HBO Max hit series “The Pitt”. Not just because they finally featured Filipino nurses (ahem), but because it captured the intense emotions, challenges, chaos, and frenzy of busy urban ERs. I watched the medical personnel struggle as they navigated the complex environment, bless their hearts. But on this special week, I have to give a shout-out to all nurses, but more especially the ER nurses. I am confident that nurses will continue to shine and save lives.

As in the first season, the show did not shy away from the realities of healthcare in the United States. Contrary to some opinions, the show’s portrayal of the challenges (insurance issues, immigration, and ICE agents) was NOT political. Heartily and passionately, I will argue that these are real issues that plague our country, regardless of political leanings. We have a broken healthcare system; truth hurts.

“The Pitt” concluded on April 16, 2026. I don’t think I am the only one with Separation Anxiety. Season 3 is scheduled to air in January 2027. What will I do in this interlude? Re-watch Seasons 1 and 2, binge on ER, Grey’s Anatomy, and try other medical shows like Amsterdam, Code Black, The Resident, and the comedies Scrubs and St. Denis Medical. I have a feeling that none of these shows is as realistic as The Pitt.

  Season 1 The Pitt Review

In a nutshell, Season 2

The 15-episode Season 2 show delivered as a one-hour session per episode from 7:00 am, packed with a whole lot of excitement in this July 4 holiday shift. Firework injuries, a waterslide collapsed with multiple victims; Dr. Abbot came as a SWAT team physician; a new grad nurse was assaulted on her first day; a rape victim was given GHB by a friend; Baby Jane Doe was found in a patient’s bathroom, whose mother remained unknown; Dr. Landon’s first day of work after a drug rehab; a new attending physician with absent seizures; the bariatric patient needing diagnostic imaging and the compassionate way that the staff handled the dilemma; several patient deaths; missed diagnoses; and the Fourth of July fireworks at the end of a very exhausting overtime shift.

The computer downtime was a hoot, causing havoc, especially among the younger staff who struggled to adapt to analog procedures, did not know what Fax was, and could not even read the doctors’ cursive chicken-shit handwriting. Thank goodness for medical student Joy’s photographic memory of the computer screen census. Otherwise, the whiteboard would be just a blank board with no information.

It was also fun seeing Nurse Princess win the betting pool about the cyberattack in a neighboring hospital, then having to share her winnings with her buddy Perlah, who suspected inside information. I just have to add how funny Princess was as she got flirty with the handsome radiologist.

 

Graphic realism

Even after all those years in busy ERs, I still learned a lot from the show. I was taking notes and would use them in the next certification exam review class I will be teaching (still doing some per-diem teaching). 

Drug use burns from xylazine; liver failure from turmeric overdose, resuscitative hysterotomy from the wild birth case; phytophotodermatitis or margarita burns; Thoravent (portable, one-way valve device to treat a small pneumothorax); Butterfly iQ3 handheld ultrasound- POCUS; slash tracheostomy; clamshell Thoracotomy; XStat (a rapid-acting hemostatic device); and a cowboy-maneuver of a closed, manual reduction of a unilateral cervical facet dislocation.

As graphic as some procedures were, I was enjoying the doctors being badass and pushing the boundaries.

 

Medical insurance

This is a hot button for me. Having worked in a city hospital for 21 years, I liked to think that, as a safety-net hospital, we were caring for the most vulnerable and underserved populations. Poverty caused people to miss their medications and refrain from seeking care until almost too late.

 "Give me your tired, your poor, / Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free..." was written by the poet Emma Lazarus for the Statue of Liberty. Safety net hospitals (and EMTALA) would say, “Come to us, we will take care of you regardless of your race, gender, religious affiliations, or ability to pay.”

In Season 2, Orlando was underinsured, despite working several jobs. He was in diabetic ketoacidosis but signed out against medical advice because he could not afford a hospital admission. This is heartbreaking. He returned as a trauma victim after falling twenty feet at his construction work site. I couldn’t help but think that he purposefully jumped to unburden his family from the costs of his disease.

 

"You Can't Save Everyone"

 However much we try, sometimes, we cannot save everyone. Some deaths are inevitable, may come as a surprise, and sometimes even a relief for those who have suffered with pain.

The guilt or grief may linger in the provider’s heart long after the incident. We need to come to terms with it, or the heartache may come to haunt us. 

Louie was a favorite among the ER staff, the chronic alcoholic who spiraled into depression after his wife and unborn child died.

Roxie came to the ER to die; it is a final reckoning on how cancer is pulling her away from her family. She accepted her fate and did not want her sons to be forever traumatized by seeing her die at home. Her older son was able to say his final goodbye after his talk with Dr. McKay. It was heartwarming how they eased Roxie’s pain so that she could leave with dignity.

A kidney stone turned out to be an abdominal aortic aneurysm. The med student, Ogilvie, was heartbroken after assisting in the failed surgery.

The guilt or grief may linger in the provider’s heart long after the incident. We need to come to terms with it, or the heartache may come to haunt us. 

 

Mental Health

Most of the ER staff is battling their own demons.

Dr. Robby’s 3-month sabbatical, suicide mission or not?

Self-harm scars on Dr. Santos' thigh?

Dana with her PTSD from the workplace violence in Season 1?

Dr. Al-Hashimi’s concern about her focal impaired awareness seizures (FIAS) due to a childhood meningitis?

Dr. Mohan's dilemma about her future in emergency medicine and her family issues?

Dr. Langdon’s insecurities after his drug rehab?

Javadi feeling overwhelmed by her overbearing surgeon mother?

Dr. McKay’s ongoing journey to maintain her sobriety?

Dr. Abbott’s involvement in the SWAT team due to continuing grief over the loss of his wife?

Dr. Mel King’s preoccupation with her legal disposition and her shock at her autistic sister’s sexual activity?

 

I am glad that some of the staff appeared to be coping well with the rigors of ER life. Perlah and Princess are each other’s support system and buddies at work, often speaking Tagalog to each other. Princess also disclosed that she de-stresses by watching a raunchy TV show. Dr. Whitaker seemed to have found romance with the farmer’s widow. At least, Joy knew that her mental health took priority, and she chose to leave after her shift.

The surprise karaoke session at the end of the show’s credits was the ultimate primal scream therapy. Both Dr. Santos and Dr. King were letting steam, temporarily forgetting the trauma.

 

Proud of being a nurse

On this Nurses Week, I support the theme: “Our Nurses. Our Future. Empowered Nurses Save Lives.” We need to secure our healthcare future by empowering the nurses to be the professionals they are, supporting them with the physical and psychological structure, and providing a safer work environment. To empower nurses means providing opportunities for growth through education and encouraging autonomy and leadership. 

"The Pitt" showcases the ER staff in their frenetic environment. Nurses and doctors go from patient to patient. Nursing understaffing has been mentioned many times on the show. So, it is rewarding when you have time to connect with patients, to know them as human beings, not as people encumbered by their medical frailties.  Time to offer a shoulder to cry on or to take time to shave their beard and cut their hair.

Digby was an unhoused patient waiting for an admission bed for IV antibiotics for his forearm cellulitis. Dana and Emma gave him a bath, then a shave and a haircut. The charge nurse told the new nurse to always respect the patients' dignity. When Digby saw himself in the mirror, he was teary-eyed and asked if his daughter would still remember him. And sometimes, some patients continue on their merry ways and return to the streets, just like Digby who absconded with Whitaker’s hospital ID and the resuscitation dummy.

Katherine LaNasa’s nuanced performance as a SANE (Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner) deserves another EMMY award. She was gentle and supportive as she performed the Rape kit evidence collection process. Compassion does take a toll. When the new nurse, Emma, accompanied the patient on a much-needed break, Dana finally allowed herself to cry.

The day shift employees made their way to the roof to watch the 4th of July fireworks in the Pittsburgh sky. They were reflecting on the shift that was. Perlah was emotional, perhaps remembering Louie’s fascination with fireworks. Dana shared that touching moment, perhaps remembering her own troubles.

ER nursing is not easy. It is not the place for the faint-hearted. I remain proud of the many nurses I worked with throughout the years, those nurses who questioned wrong orders, who advocated for their patients, who collaborated well with their doctor partners, those empowered nurses who stood their ground. When Emma held Louie’s hand during the debrief and persevered, continuing to work despite being choked by an agitated patient, I knew she would remain standing and learn from the best nurses ever.

 

THE PITT- A REVIEW FROM AN “OG” ER NURSE

                                                                             

The HBO-Max TV show is set in a fictional institution called the "Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Center, affectionally nicknamed The Pitt. We referred to my former hospital as The Hurst. Even with a brand-name change, the nurses at another hospital kept the nostalgic name Santa Luca.

Season 1 had 15 episodes, smartly presented as one-hour shifts for this team of healthcare team. The usual 12-hour shift was extended to 15, after a mass shooting disrupted an already-crowded ER. Season 2 is also scheduled for 15 episodes. This time, the ER is bursting at the seams on the Fourth of July weekend with patients diverted from another hospital. For certain, there will be fireworks injuries, maybe traumatic amputations?

 

Authentic, real, and intense

In just a few minutes, at the start of the TV show The Pitt, I knew that this was as raw and authentic as any show about an inner-city ER will ever be. Dr. Robby walked through a crowded waiting room, was met by Filipino nurses, and had to talk a fellow doctor out of suicide.

With 35 years in ED nursing (newly retired), I consider myself an OG. Some say OG stands for “old generals or older generation”; I strongly approve of being called an Original Gangster. With just five of my fellow Baby Boomer ER nurses, we can probably account for 90% of the cases shown so far. And we approve this show as the best, most well-written, and most authentic medical show ever.

This show is highly realistic in its portrayal of the chaotic, intense ER setting; most hardened ER nurses would suggest there is organization amid the chaos that would have driven off a less courageous nurse on their first day. Yes, we have seen maggots, lice, bedbugs, and other crawling insects (fortunately not rats). We have seen many foreign bodies from all orifices. One time, a patient presented to Triage with a live vibrator inside her vagina that kept buzzing, and she had to stop her narrative because of orgasmic bursts (Psst, Pitt writers, maybe you can use this). There is mayhem and gore, but this is what makes the ER exciting for the adrenaline junkies that we are.

The ER producers hired real doctors and nurses to serve as consultants in the show. Some even act as nurses in the different episodes. To master the emergency skills, the cast underwent a 2-week bootcamp where they were taught the steps to intubate, put a chest tube, perform CPR, suture wounds, perform pericardiocentesis, and other procedures. They were also taught to confidently speak medical tongue-twister terms such as cauda equina, Sengstaken-Blakemore tube, Phytophotodermatitis, and methemoglobinemia. One of the executive producers, Joe Sachs, is a practicing (part-time) ER doctor.

The cacophony of sounds is not masked by background music. As in a real setting, we hear cardiac monitors, ventilator alarms, ambulance sirens, unit announcements, ringing phones, vomit sounds, the conversations between the healthcare team, and the groans and curses of the impatient patients and the short-staffed medical staff alike.

Like in all ERs (and other units), there is constant talk about staffing shortage, work stress, PTSD, diversions, overcrowding, burnout, mental health, substance abuse, insurance costs, and even patient satisfaction scores. What impresses me is that the ER staff came together in solidarity to save and care for their patients; the camaraderie was borne out of their shared experiences. The debrief after the mass shooting included everyone, including the ancillary staff, housekeepers, clerks, and Security.

When I wondered where the nursing leaders (Chief nursing officer, director, manager, supervisor) and other healthcare members were, my son explained that in a TV show, it may not be efficient to include so many characters. That will require more story lines, more characters to write for. So, it is artistic license, I realize. I am happy enough that I see Filipino nurses, at least.

                                                        

The Cast

The cast is top-notch. Dr. Robby is played by Noah Wyle, formerly Dr. Carter from my other favorite show, “ER”. He expertly led the ER team in Season 1 to navigate an active-shooter disaster scenario. In Season 1, he welcomed new residents (of varying confidence and one with a predilection for bodily fluids splashing on his person) and a medical student (who fainted at the sight of a degloved foot). Throughout the show, he struggled with the traumatic memories of the COVID-19 nightmare when his mentor died. In Season 2, he is supposed to go on a 3-month Sabbatical after this last shift, like riding into the sunset, purportedly without a helmet (smh, as the Gen Z’s lingo). 

The team of doctors from both seasons includes Al-Hashimi, Abbott, Shen, Ellis, Langdon, Collins, Mohan, McKay, Santos, Whitaker, Mel King, and med students Javadi, Joy, and Ogilvie.

Dana, played by Katherine LaNasa, is the charge nurse/ ringleader who keeps the combustible atmosphere from exploding into a sloppy mess. She reads the room, controls the patient board, and juggles patient rooms to accommodate new arrivals; most importantly, she knows who needs help at any given time. Situational awareness and mutual support make her the quintessential charge nurse. She organized the team to restrain a violent patient who needed to be sedated. She directed the new grad nurse to assist in showering/decontaminating an unhoused patient. She noticed the nurse, Perlah, fighting to control her emotions, so she took over in the post-mortem care of a patient. 

Her team of nurses includes Lena, Perlah, Princess, Donnie, Jesse, Kim, Mateo, Sophie, and Emma. 

https://www.townandcountrymag.com/leisure/arts-and-culture/a64355242/the-pitt-cast-characters-guide/

The show won many Primetime Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Drama Series, Lead Actor (Wyle), Supporting Actress (LaNasa), and Guest Actor (Shawn Hatosy, who played Dr. Abbot). At the end of Season 1, we learn that Dr. Abbot, a military veteran, is a single-leg amputee who uses a prosthesis.

 

 

 A Patient’s Death

After episode 6 of Season 2, I bawled my eyes out, not only for Louie, but for all those frequent flyers I lost over the years, for those who we tried to help but couldn’t. Death is a constant in an ER, but there are some cases that hit us harder.

Louie (played by Ernest Harden, Jr) was a frequent flyer, a chronic alcoholic patient who appeared in Season 1. He was well-liked by the staff because he was well-mannered and always smiling, even with a blood alcohol level of 400. This time, it was the end of the road for him. Despite the paracentesis to relieve his ascites, he went into cardiac arrest. After the intubation, blood gushed out of the ET tube: pulmonary hemorrhage caused by liver failure. Even with the staff’s heroic efforts, Louie remained in asystole. Dr. Robby finally ended the resuscitation and pronounced him dead.

The debrief was heart-rending. For most ER staff who knew Louie, it was a surprise to learn the patient’s backstory. Dr. Robby relayed that Louie confided that he lost his wife and unborn child in a road accident, which catapulted him into a life of despair and led him to alcoholism. 

The patient’s death, although not surprising given his worsening liver failure, was a shock to the staff who had cared for him in his frequent admissions to the ER. The staff paid their respects to a patient who had somehow been part of the ER family. A moment of silence; a gesture of humanity. Dignity even in death. Robby offered a Jewish mourning phrase to remember Louie: “May his memory be a blessing.”

There are so many stories behind the misfortune of our patients, if we only listen. Years ago, when I was a bedside ER nurse, I cried with the nursing staff when one of our favorite “regular’ drunks died from hypothermia when he collapsed in the street. He was quiet, never violent, never cursed us, never hit us, just smiled through our lectures. Before his alcohol addiction rendered him homeless (now called un-housed), he had a good job and a loving family. We used to bring a hot meal for “Mr. G”; there was no price tag on hunger, no restriction on being kind to vulnerable patients battling their own demons.

 

Workplace Violence

It is an unfortunate reality, but the world is not a safe place. In an overcrowded environment, emotions run high among some patients, who feel they deserve to be seen first. Dana was sucker-punched by one of those disgruntled patients (in Season 1). The whole staff was shaken by the assault on one of their own.

Instead of going home, Dana chose to finish her shift, to power through when a mass shooting called for a hands-on-deck response from the ER staff. The SWAT team showed up in the ER, just in case the shooter came in to finish his evil mission. It was scary. There was even a question if Dana was coming back to work.

According to the New York State Penal Code, “Assault in the Second Degree in New York allows felony charges, instead of misdemeanor charges, to be brought against someone who acts, “with intent to cause physical injury to a registered nurse or licensed practical nurse…while such employee is performing an assigned duty.”

In episode 6 of Season 2, we learned that the person who assaulted Dana was apprehended, but she refused to press charges. In real life, I have always persuaded the nurses to demand felony charges. It looked like Dana was still struggling with her decision to let go and may not have come to terms with the trauma to herself.  Although she might appear to the world that she is coping well, she seems hypervigilant and edgy. The trauma lingers long after the assault. She didn’t even answer the student nurse's question about why she stayed. I suspect that at the end of this season, Dana will reveal her "Why".

 

Humor in the ER

To survive in the ER, the healthcare team often shares jokes with each other, reports on what new foreign object the patient ingested or inserted. Tongue-in-cheek humor; anything to brighten the day and to lighten the load. A chuckle a day keeps us sane.

Ruined Scrubs: In Season 1, Whitaker made several trips to the scrub vending machine due to several accidents from bodily fluids (blood, urine, vomit, and spilled milk of magnesia). In Season 2, Ogilvie had the dubious honor of poop exploding on him after a fecal disimpaction. A "poop cannon" or "assplosion" is a great rite of passage for an obnoxious medical student.

Dr. Shen held on to his Dunkin' iced coffee, even while acting as a Triage officer during the disaster. I think it is a “bird flip” to the Infection Control team.

A journalist faked an injury to slip into the ER, then slipped on a wet floor after being discovered. Santos then discarded his phone in a bucket of bloody water. Ooops, karma indeed.

Santos is someone who you would either hate or love. I think there is a soft, sad side to her that she tried to hide behind her snarky remarks and nicknames for her colleagues (Crash and Huckleberry). When a nun’s conjunctivitis culture came out positive for gonorrhea, Santos quipped, “Immaculate infection.” Perlah and Princess were gossiping, then Santos interjected in Tagalog.  

(Update 2/20/26-  In episode 7, Santos sang "Ili ili", a lullaby from a province in the Philippines, to calm Baby Jane Doe. In real life, Isa Briones is a Broadway actress.).

Rats!!!! Four rats scampered out from an unhoused patient’s clothes. The staff was so grossed out, and Dr. Collins jumped on the stretcher, wielding an IV pole. In a dramatic moment, Whitaker captured one of the rats, covered it with bed linen, and effectively broke its neck, just like an efficient former farm boy would. The staff broke into applause.                                                                      

Dr. Mehta, the resident stroke neurologist, delivers dumb dad jokes. The staff just rolls their eyes behind his back.

The patient, Earl, witnessed Javadi flirting with nurse Mateo. With a raised eyebrow, he asked,  “Am I at a hospital or in a romcom?”

Myrna was a gutter-mouth patient who wheeled herself around the ER, poking fun at anyone she encountered with her sexual innuendos, even calling Robby “fruitcake”.

Mel is neurodivergent and socially awkward. Her enthusiasm manifested in her inappropriate “high fives” and fist bumps after an exciting case.

Joy, the new medical student, is funny and sassy with her one-liners. After Ogilvie bragged about learning Farsi from his friends, Joy deadpanned, “I’m surprised he has friends.” As she was picking out glass shards from a bloody leg, Joy nonchalantly remarked, “Thrilling - totally worth $200,000 in student loans”.

A patient who used Super Glue on her fake eyelash dismissed Dr. Langdon (the actress’s real-life boyfriend) and asked to be treated by the super-popular medical influencer on TikTok, Dr. J, who turned out to be the medical student Javadi.

At last, Pinoy Nurses in an ER medical drama

“The Pitt” features two Filipino nurses, Perlah (Amielynn Abellera) and Princess (Kristin Villanueva), as part of their ER team. Not just background players, but crucial to the emergency department team and highly respected for their expertise in the crazy, hectic world of emergency medicine. They provide comic relief when they speak Tagalog to each other, perhaps a coping mechanism to the work stressors. There is something therapeutic about bantering in your language, and sometimes communicating just with your eyes (and pointing with your lips).

The duo seemed to be planning a surprise 21st-birthday party for the med student Javadi. I hope that they will order the famous Filipino party food, lumpia and pancit. I am sure the ER staff would prefer these to pizza and donuts. If there were a betting pool like the one the security officer, Ahmad, ran, I would bet there would be lumpia and pancit at the party. After all, we don’t need any excuse to throw a party in the ER. I will be amazed and impressed if that happens.

After 15 seasons of “ER” without Filipino nurses, we see these bad-ass nurses and work besties claim their rightful place as part of the PITT team. As a Filipino ER nurse for 35 years, I felt represented. Finally.

 

Episode 6 “12:00 PM”, Season 2- a homage to nurses

This episode was directed by Noah Wyle and written by Valerie Chu. Thank you to the Pitt crew for showing what the nurses do best- caring and being excellent. Thank you for recognizing our profession.

Kudos to Dana, Perlah, Princess, Donnie, Lena, Jesse, Kim, Mateo, Sophie, and Emma.

Whitaker echoed what Robby told him before: “Always listen to the nurses. They run the ER; we just try and stay out of their way.” I am glad to say that real-life doctors have said the same thing to their new interns and residents every time they start their ER rotation, usually in July. A doctor I worked with advised his residents: “If the nurses like you because you gave them the respect they deserve, they will have your back.”

Dana is a queen, part-Mama Bear and part Incredible Hulk. Lena, the night charge nurse/ part-time death doula, is a great partner to Dana.

It is true that many nurses have saved lives by suggesting alternative interventions, as when multilingual Princess suggested an EKG for an abdominal patient. Perlah took over Charge when Dana was hurt. Donnie was ready for his new role as a nurse practitioner and impressed the new interns with his suturing skills. Mateo’s triage skills were on point; he’s someone you would want with you when the going gets tough. Kim and Jessie not only play nurses on TV, but they are real-life ER nurses. Kim expertly recited the steps for a Fluorescein injection. Silver-haired Jesse (also a drummer) knew what he was doing, an expert among other actors. Sophie is actually a physician assistant who also taught in the cast bootcamp.

I see myself and my friends in all these nurses. I can relate to their challenges and uncertainties, as well as to their determination to give their best. We were like Emma once, naïve, unsure if the ER was right for her. When she reached for Louis’s hand during the debrief, even if she did not know him at all, I knew she would make a great ER nurse.