We like a good joke every once in a while (just take a look at our humor in healthcare series).
But sometimes, stereotypes can cause a lot of problems, especially when they make light of the hard work and effort people put into their careers.
If you can remember back to our post last month about “Scrubbing In,” you’ll see that we were interested in seeing how the show end up. And as it turns out, there are a lot of nurses who are unhappy about the show.
The show, which follows nine registered nurses from around the nation as they adjust to their life working in an Orange County hospital over the summer, sparked controversy for its “simplistic” and negative view of nursing life.
Even before the show aired, the trailer generated a lot of debate online for depicting nurses engaging in the usual reality-TV dose of partying mixed with some heavy drama.
After the October 24th debut of “Scrubbing In,” The National Nurses United, the largest U.S organization of nurses, issued a statement condemning the show’s portrayal, stating that it would conduct reality checks if the show continued (you can see the full statement here). A petition was also created on Change.org calling for the cancellation of the show–it currently has over 30,500 signatures.
In response to the complaints, along with the show’s low ratings (less than 500,000 viewers during the first three airings), MTV decided to push the show to a midnight time slot, as well as make edits that would include more clinical scenes, and promote an online web feature called “Day in the Life of a Nurse.”
Various nurses have spoken out against the show. One nurse said the following on the Facebook group “Cancel Scrubbing In on MTV!”:
If this show premiered when I was considering nursing as an option, it really could have been enough to turn me in the opposite direction. That’s the saddest thing, for me, as someone who is so proud to call themselves a future nurse. Knowing that bright, compassionate young men and women will take away such a negative/misguided idea about what it is that nurses do is the most frustrating impact that this show will have.
You can read more of the comments here, as well as on the official Scrubbing In Facebook page.
It looks like “Scrubbing In” isn’t such a big hit after all.
So what do you think? Are shows like “Scrubbing In” good or bad for the nursing profession? Should the show still air with these edits, or are we better off without the show altogether? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter!
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Photo credit: MTV via Travel Nurse Source
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