Opinion | Nurses Are Honored in Hollywood. Reality Often Looks Different.

— The Brigham and Women's Hospital strike is a reminder of health system power dynamics

by Stephen P. Wood, DMSc, ACNP-BC

July 14, 2026

• 4 min read

There is something almost too on-the-nose about our recent news cycle. On July 8, "The Pitt" -- HBO Max's unflinching, real-time portrait of a Pittsburgh emergency department (ED) -- collected 25 Emmy nominations, 13 of them for its cast. This was one of the most decorated hauls for an ensemble in the award's history. That same day, roughly 4,000 nurses at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston walked off the job in one of the largest nurses' strikes in Massachusetts history.