Nurses are professionals

With dismay I read WSU medical student Marleny Carmona’s quoted comment about being mistaken for a nursing student: “even in 2020 we are inclined to envision professionals as men.” (“Women’s March celebrates progress,” Jan. 19)

Nurses ARE professionals. Our profession is one of many health care disciplines that work together to promote and restore health. Ms. Carmona states that she is concerned about people asking little girls of color “what kind of nurse or assistant they want to be,” evidently unaware that nurses are not the assistants of physicians, but rather their colleagues.

The nursing students (men and women) I teach are proud to have chosen nursing as their profession. 2020 has been designated “Year of the Nurse” and during this year I would like medical students, medical professionals, and the public to know that just because our profession has been historically practiced by women, there is nothing “less than” about being a nurse!

Melody Gartrell, MSN, RN, ONC

Spokane