From Pitt to ‘The Pitt’: Alumna Kelly Cincotta’s TV Debut Turns the Limelight on Nurses

By the time Kelly Cincotta (BSN ’26) graduated from the University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing, she was already acting the part of a professional nurse.

While juggling classwork and part-time clinical duties at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh during her senior year, Cincotta assumed another role: an extra on “The Pitt,” a hit TV show set in the emergency department of a fictional Pittsburgh hospital.

Appearing in the season 2 finale that aired April 16, Cincotta plays a nurse catching her breath after a draining shift. Without giving away the emotional ending, she can be seen watching Fourth of July fireworks from the hospital’s rooftop—a scene shot at AHN Allegheny General Hospital—with her on-screen colleagues.

Though Cincotta’s screentime amounted to just a few seconds, it far exceeded her expectations—and her acting oeuvre.

“My best role was Tree No. 2 in ‘The Wizard of Oz,’” Cincotta joked about her middle school theater experience. “It was so much fun appearing on ‘The Pitt’, but I've never done anything like it before.”

Like many health care workers, Cincotta is a big fan of “The Pitt,” a show that has received widespread praise for its realistic portrayal of medical conditions and workplace challenges, including the national nursing shortage. Cincotta and many of her Pitt Nursing classmates have enjoyed connecting the show’s plot points to skills they’ve learned in class, from recognizing childbirth complications to recalling neurology lectures.

So when Cincotta received an email that one of her favorite shows was seeking extras, she jumped at the opportunity.

“It's so cool to see such an accurate medical TV show,” she said. “You have other shows that tap into the drama aspect of it, but ‘The Pitt’ does such a good job of making it realistic but also entertaining.”

Several members of Pitt’s community have had a hand in the show’s production. School of Medicine Professor Sylvia Owusu-Ansah and Professor Emeritus Ronald Roth served as advisers, as did School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences Adjunct Professor Sheila Roth and Pitt Nursing alumna Kathleen Sekula (MSN ’86, PhD ’98).

Spring graduate Dina Etkin (BSN ’26) was also an extra on the show’s second season. She can be seen walking in the background of the park scene in episode 11, as well as the background of a scene in the finale where someone is pushing a mannequin in a wheelchair.

As for her own experiences, Cincotta said the fireworks in the season 2 finale weren’t real—they were digitally added later—but being on set was no less exciting. She had the chance to chat with actor Shabana Azeez, who plays the role of medical student Victoria Javadi. Cincotta described Azeez as “genuinely so sweet,” adding that all the cast and crew members were warm and welcoming to extras.

“I'm so grateful that I got to do something fun like that,” Cincotta said. “It was a fun piece of lore to add to my senior year.”

Cincotta didn’t know it then, but her time in the limelight was just beginning. As she wrapped up her last few classes at Pitt Nursing, she was selected by her peers to serve as the undergraduate student speaker at the spring 2026 commencement on May 1.

As graduation approached, Cincotta reflected on her four years at Pitt Nursing. Among her achievements, she had the opportunity to serve as a nursing assistant on a 50-bed medical-surgical unit at the Atlantic Health System in Morristown, New Jersey. She then completed an internship on a step-down unit at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh and enjoyed the experience so much that she didn’t want to leave.

“After my internship, I decided to stay on as a patient care technician, which was such a cool experience,” she said. “It helped me learn the floor more, get closer to families and be able to do daily activities with them. Many of the kids were there for months on end, and it was amazing to be part of their care.”

She has since moved back to New Jersey, where she grew up, to be closer to family. She is actively applying to nursing positions and is open to working on a variety of medical units. Although she has enjoyed her time as an aspiring nurse and an on-screen nurse, she feels ready to step into the role of a professional nurse—a dream she has long held.

“I've always been super interested in health care and genuinely helping people,” she said. “Just seeing a nurse truly connect with a patient and be their No. 1 advocate is something I'm so excited and so grateful for the opportunity to do.”