Your World Tonight - Pagulayan Filipino nurses

Episode Date: September 23, 2025

Pagulayan Filipino nurses

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Filipino nurses, Princess and Perla flanked Dr. Robbie, played by Noah Wiley, right from the start. Toronto nurse Charlie Flores love seeing the chismes or gossip in Tagalog. I love finally that they've incorporated Filipinos in medical shows. it is reality. Like, it's just reality. To anybody who's going on shift tonight or coming off shift tonight, thank you for being in that job. This is for you. And it's an Emmy-winning reality, one that includes at long last the appearance and inclusion of Filipinos in health care. The pit offers a compelling look at this sector where in Canada, a third of immigrants from the Philippines work as nurses or support staff.

Give me four units of O negative down there, stat, drop an NG tube, and get Dr. Benton in here. There's no place for a pediatrician. Despite their strong presence in health care, Filipinos have been overlooked in popular medical dramas like ER and Grey's Anatomy. But that's changing. We are seeing. They can see us now. They recognize us, which should have been a long time.

I guess it's a long time coming. Yellowknife nurse Jennifer Begonovich was so proud to see the representation in another TV show, St. Dennis Medical. They are together a lot. Because of the Filipino mafia. What? The Filipino mafia. Clips from the show went viral thanks to a storyline featuring a clique of nurses

who gossip and strut who are known as the Filipino Mafia. And that's what Toronto Nurse Mary Old Gasco calls her group chat. She said she relied on senior Filipino nurses when she first started. Having kind of that sense of community really helped me grow into my profession.

The actors on these shows understand the responsibility that comes with these roles. Amy Lynn Abelera, who plays Perla on The Pit, feels honored. What a gift for my daughter to be able to see a nurse on screen and be like, oh, that's like Lola, because my mom's a nurse. I'm like, yes, it is like Lola.

Kristen Villanueva, who plays Princess, hopes these characters spark change. This is not a one-off. This is not special anymore. This is just what it is. It's a represent. It's an exact mirror of what is realized. Filipinos are finally getting some recognition on screen. but they're still missing in leadership roles

and are rarely featured as main characters. Winnipeg nurse, Rona Miller, wants mainstream shows to highlight the backstories of Filipino health care workers. She wants the community to see themselves as more than just one-dimensional characters. We can be more than what we are, and it might encourage younger generation, you know what, I'm not just going to be a nurse.

I'm going to be higher up and I can probably dream big. Christine Pagulayan, CBC News, Toronto. For more CBC podcasts, go to CBC. www.ca slash podcasts.