TikTok A screenshot from the Philly nurse video (l) and the TikTok user (r)
A video of a Philadelphia nurse refusing to give a doctor’s note to a pregnant woman who wanted to take off work has gone viral. Some are calling the Philly nurse a “nurse Karen” because the video indicates she called the police.
The video was first posted by TikTok user @goddess_jay_. She says in the video that it was recorded at a “Philly Pregnancy Center.”
The nurse, who is not identified, is white. The TikTok user is Black.
Here’s what you need to know:
The Video Shows the Nurse Refusing to Write a Note for the Pregnant Woman as the Conflict Escalates
@goddess_jay_
In a video in which she gave additional details about what happened, the pregnant TikTok user, whose name is Jillian, explained, “I needed a doctor’s note, I needed to take off work, I’m in a lot of pain.” She explained that the nurse did a cervical exam that was “very aggressive…very painful” and then told Jillian that she couldn’t give her a note because she said Jillian could work.
The original video posted by Jillian captured the nurse saying, “What were you thinking about when you got pregnant, that you weren’t going to work?”
“Do you know how I feel?” Jillian asked.
“Yes, I want to know your mindset. When you got pregnant what were you thinking about? I’m confused… you came in here, and I did an assessment. I gave you my best medical advice, and you didn’t like that,” the nurse said.
The nurse said the note was fraud, adding “We have to have a reason.”
“How do you know how my body feels inside?” Jillian asked. “How do you know how my nausea feels? How do you know how my cramps feel?”
@goddess_jay_ This is part 1 to the crazy karen story . Please repost keep this viral i need to bring awareness and get justice for the way i was treated . I appreciate all the love and couldn’t get to every comment . So thank you so much for all the love !
The nurse called the police, Jillian said, when she called the nurse a “weirdo.”
The pregnancy center’s Instagram page no longer exists. Jillian’s videos contain a screenshot of a statement she says was posted by that center. “She did not touch the patient at all. It was the patient who got up screaming… We do not deserve this kind of treatment and harassment that we have endured…” it read in part.
@goddess_jay_
People Expressed Outrage After Watching the Video
The video has sparked outrage online. “This is medical gaslighting, ignoring peoples needs/experience in their own body, judgmental care, racism and trying to assert dominance,” wrote one person on Instagram.
“Imagine thinking that just because you stuck your fingers inside someone’s body, that you can gauge everything that someone is feeling/experiencing and even think that you can predict any f***** thing. How folks are being abused, mistreated, neglected and killed in the United States is ATROCIOUS.”