'The View' -- We Love Nurses ... We Just Have A Weird Way Of Showing It

"The View" co-hosts did nurse damage control Wednesday ... with one of the ladies squarely owning up and another doing the moonwalk.

Michelle Collins and Joy Behar lampooned Miss Colorado who came out during the "Miss America" talent portion in a nurse's uniform. Thing is ... she's really a nurse, and the jokes didn't go over well.

Joy was very honest and said on Wednesday's show she just screwed up.

Michelle, on the other hand, kinda pulled a "my-best-friends-are-nurses" thing, talking about how much she loves them.