MTV was given “a shot” (bad pun, I know) of negativity when it premiered its new reality show, Scrubbing In, last month.
The show, which centers around the lives of a group of hard-partying nurses in Orange County, California, tended to focus more on the group’s antics than their life-saving work, which outraged nursing organizations all over the country, several of which wrote open letters to MTV to try to get the show removed from the air.
In an almost unprecedented move, the network actually listened to the nursing organizations and has vowed to make big changes in regard to the show. (See? Sometimes the squeaky wheel really does get the oil…or however that stupid saying goes…)
Anyway, according to a post on nursing non-profit The Truth About Nursing’s website, MTV reached out to them and has promised to take five steps in order to help repair the damage done by the show.
“MTV executives reached out to the Truth after receiving our letter and we engaged in lengthy discussion,” the post read. “They were unusually open to hearing our concerns about the links between the stereotypes, the undervaluation of nursing, and the underfunding of nursing practice and education. Our main executive contact was disturbed that there was such a strong and unanimous condemnation of ‘Scrubbing In’ by nurses, calling it an ‘eye-opening experience’ for MTV.'”
- Changing the show’s time slot: Although the show’s remaining episodes will air, MTV has vowed to move the show to a less-prominent time slot in its lineup. The show, which was airing at 10 p.m., will now air at midnight, which will likely cut its viewership in half.
- Re-editing of episodes: Say so long to those hot tub hi-jinks…well, at least some of them. The network has agreed to re-edit the episodes that have not aired yet so that they focus more on the events that happen within the hospital, rather than the partying that takes place after hours.
- Create a ‘Day in the Life of a Nurse’ website feature: If you’d like to see what real nurses do on a daily basis, you will now be able to head over to MTV’s website and see a to-be-created feature that follows a real nurse.
- Post blogs about how to be a nurse: The network has promised to add a blog post on its website that discusses what it takes to become a nurse, which will hopefully encourage more young people to explore that field as a possible career option.
- Consult with nursing organizations for any future programming: The Truth About Nursing says that MTV has agreed to consult with them if they decide to do any more nursing-related shows so that the organization can “educate those involved about potential pitfalls and key messages about nursing.”
MTV has not revealed whether or not it will renew ‘Scrubbing In’ for a second season, but The Ashley thinks the chances of this happening are slim to none. With so many new reality shows premiering each season, MTV will likely throw in the towel on this show due to the controversy it has caused, and focus its efforts on a new program.
The Ashley will keep you posted!
(Photo: MTV)
7 Responses
this show needs to go. this show is down right disrespectful! the nurses are not professional.
Honestly, being a nurse myself this show is disgusting. We deal with real lives and families who go through hardships of seeing their loved ones sick or slowly dying. This show demoralizes the role of a nurse in a real life setting. Do we have lives outside of the hospital? Of course. But does that mean all nurses are drunken, crazy partiers? No. As a young nurse, I fight to earn the respect from patients who think of us as a sexual object in scrubs. We are more than this show portrays us. We do not pour blood and sweat to earn our license to be seen as incompetent party animals. Do I watch this show or have I? No nor will I ever. But I have seen the trailer and that alone disgusted me. This is not entertainment, nurses are not circus clowns. We are the ones who take care of your loved ones at their weakest moments and we deserve a show that elicits the amount of hard work and stress we go through on a daily basis. Telling a mother her child is dying is not entertainment. Nurses have a right to be upset knowing how hard it is to do what we do and we don’t need MTV to make our profession look like a drunken frenzie. I have never learned to appreciate and love the nursing profession until I got in it so I know some may not understand it from that perspective.
All of you saying the shows bad or it is BS shut up I LOVE this show and HOPE they make a season 2 with the SAME people. I WANT to know… WHATS GOING ON WITH ADRIAN AND HEATHER!!!! it’s killing me I want to know so bad ugh! Who did she pick Dalton or Adrian?
Looks like she picks dalton
This makes me so sad, I can see the point of view from where real life nurses are coming from but this show was so entertaining, I loved it!
Kind of BS in my opinion. Many shows have taken the heat including jersey shore and teen mom. What makes this show so special
Is scrubbing in scripted? It seems very fake and hard to watch