For the first time in the show’s 17-year history, a migrant Filipina nurse has been featured in Grey’s Anatomy for its season 17 finale.
Filipina-American actress Aina Dumlao played the Filipina nurse Gerlie Bernardo, who in the episode entitled “Someone Saved My Life Tonight” was admitted to the fictional Grey-Sloan Memorial due to COVID-19.
According to a research conducted by the nonprofit organization Migration Policy Institute, Filipinos comprised the largest share of 512,000 immigrant nurses in the United States at 28%. Despite this number, there is still an underrepresentation of Filipino nurses in U.S. media.
“Shooting it for the last two weeks when the showrunner Krista Vernoff gave a speech at the end of the series, she says they’re trying to represent the true colors and the true face of Filipino frontline workers and it’s starting with that episode, the finale that I’m on. So all of a sudden I’m like, ‘Oh, I didn’t realize the weight on my shoulders,’” Dumlao shared in an interview with ABS-CBN News about her Grey’s Anatomy role.
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“Without giving too much away, I tried to infuse the nurturing aspect of Filipino frontline workers, specifically nurses, but then they also still smile and try to stay positive amidst everything that’s going on. If Filipino nurses see this all over the world, that they can feel themselves seen for the first time,” Dumlao added.
Aside from Grey’s Anatomy, Dumlao is currently a lead actress in the Australian series The Unusual Suspects alongside Miranda Otto and Michelle Vergara Moore. She is also a long-time writer and producer.
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Featured image Still from Grey’s Anatomy/ ABC