Review: "Scrubbing In," a new medical reality TV show

I don't watch much television except for some sports. But I feel it is my duty to comment on medical TV shows, which I generally hate. A few months ago, I reviewed two shows that, as I predicted, didn't last long. Their names were "Monday Mornings" and "Do No Harm."

A third show "Married to Medicine" is rumored to be coming back for a second season despite a storm of protests over the way it depicts black physicians and their spouses. You can read all of these reviews by entering "Medical TV shows" in the search field in my blog's upper right.

I should have known better, but something drove me to look at a new reality show on MTV called "Scrubbing In," which debuted last week.

A warning sign was that based upon only the show's trailer, both the American Nurses Association and the Canadian Nurses Association wrote to the network asking that the show be canceled because it depicts nurses in demeaning and unflattering ways.

I will spare you the details of the plot, such as it was. But here are a few highlights.

A group of travel nurses, mostly from Pittsburgh, to go to work at a hospital (which probably regrets its participation) in Orange County, California.

The cast features several extremely unlikable young women and a few equally unlikeable men. All are profane, unprofessional, and dishonor the nursing profession.

Most if not all of the women have had breast implant surgery and are not bashful about revealing that fact verbally and sartorially.

Two nurses, one male and one female, had to be removed from the orientation session at the hospital. Their California nursing licenses were held up because they both had prior arrests for DUI.

It's not clear what the show's title "Scrubbing In" has to do with anything, since all of the nurses who had licenses were working in the emergency department, not the operating room.

During the first 30 minutes of the show's premiere, which was all I could take, about 3 minutes took place in the hospital. The rest of the time was devoted to watching the ladies walk around in towels, swear, shower together (behind a curtain), and go on a "booze cruise" so they could all get acquainted.

There were some memorable lines however.

While taking off his shirt on the boat, one of the male nurses said, "Sun's out, guns out."

One of the nurses, discussing her prospects for the move to Orange County, said, "Nurses f--- doctors, and doctors f--- nurses."

And while in a car, one nurse says to the others, "Did you bring your vibrators?"

Not only is "Scrubbing In" the worst medical show I've ever seen, it might also be the worst television show in history.

It should be scrubbed.