Good evening. As I'm sure many of you have already seen, "The View" devoted a segment of today's broadcast to nurses and invited two nursing faculty members from NYU to share their experiences in nursing education and discuss some of the rigors of becoming a nurse and maintaining a career as one. They also apologized (properly this time!) for their misguided, ignorant comments from Monday's show. I know many are still of the opinion, and will remain so, that this show and the apologies from Joy and Michelle were nothing more than a scripted PR stunt in response to several of their sponsors choosing to halt advertising during the daily time slot devoted to "The View". While this may be true, since this petition did manage to achieve the desired outcome, I am officially declaring our endeavor victorious. I understand many are still angry about the events that inspired this response, and I understand their feelings. I propose, however, that we do our best to forgive and move on from this. The opinions of a few barely-D-list celebrities do not change the fact that nursing has for many years been among the most trusted professions worldwide, nor can they take away our pride in knowing that we have the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of our patients and their loved ones every day. We must not allow them to cause us to harbor bitterness in our hearts. Furthermore, we cannot claim to know what is in these women's hearts; I for one choose to give them the benefit of the doubt and believe that their apologies were genuine. Even if this is not the case, I am satisfied that they took the time to educate themselves and the public on the profession of nursing and what it entails; I consider that a success in and of itself. We as a community have also shown the public that even though nurses have a reputation for being meek and gentle, we are a force to be reckoned with when it comes to standing up for one of our own, and the noble profession to which we have dedicated our lives. To everyone who has signed and shared this petition, as well as everyone who has made public their views on the situation, I thank you for your support. To my fellow nurses and healthcare providers, I am proud to call you my colleagues. To all the nursing students who have stood with us, keep up the good work! I promise you it's worth the struggles you're going through right now, and we will be delighted to welcome you with open arms into the nursing family when you reach the goals I know you are all working so hard to achieve. To all those who support us and appreciate the work we do, you are an encouragement to all of us and you have our deepest gratitude. Blessings to you all and #keepcalmandnurseon! #nursepride #nursesunite #notjustanurse Amanda G. Claybrook, RN Clarksville, Virginia