"Scrubs" episodes

"Scrubs" News and Action Center

Send our instant letter to "Scrubs"! It just takes one minute.

See our "Scrubs" series review.

Send a letter to "Scrubs" at:

Bill Lawrence, Executive Producer
"Scrubs"
10201 W. Pico Blvd.
Bldg. 88
Los Angeles, CA 90064-2606

"Scrubs" single episiode analyses

"Scrubs," lift us up where we belong

February 1, 2007 -- Tonight NBC's "Scrubs" told millions of viewers that nurses are handmaidens with low-skilled jobs, that physicians supervise nurses and can become nurse managers at will, that nursing is for women so men who do it should be mocked, and that physicians take the lead in skilled patient monitoring, though nurses actually do that. The episode does suggest vaguely that "head nurse" Carla Espinosa is needed. And nurse Laverne Roberts, who has often been presented as a lazy, disagreeable stereotype, takes a more active and realistic role here. But on the whole, Mike Schwartz's "His Story IV" is one of the worst "Scrubs" episodes ever for nursing. more...

"Hey, did I ever thank you for all the help you've given me over the years?"

April 18, 2006 -- Tonight NBC's "Scrubs" showed nurse Carla Espinosa helping interns learn key aspects of clinical practice by catching their errors and teaching them how to avoid them. The subplot also presented Carla as wisely protecting the interns from the undue wrath of their attending physicians. And in one scene, Carla even expertly takes charge of handling a patient's seizure, with an intern following her lead (!). The show does seem to view Carla's acts more as a result of her fine personal qualities than as a professional nursing obligation. And though we ourselves have often said that nurses deserve credit for teaching physicians, given prevailing biases, this may suggest to many that nurses are important to the extent they help the physicians whose care really matters. This episode, like hundreds of other prime time episodes in the last decade, is all about training physicians--only. We have yet to see a media product suggest that physicians are important because they help train new nurses. Even so, the intern errors plotline is a rare and admirable effort by a network show to convey that nurses play an important role in health care and training. The episode, "His Story III," was written by Angela Nissel. more...

My Crazy Nurse Memory

March 21, 2006 -- Tonight's episode of NBC's "Scrubs" included one of the better plotlines for nursing that the show has run. Mark Stegemann's "My Extra Mile" followed nurse character Carla Espinosa's search for a missing VIP patient. The minor plotline did not reflect much sense of how nurses work or of nursing autonomy. But it did feature an aggressive defense of nurses' technical expertise, as Carla repeatedly demonstrated her encyclopedic knowledge of the conditions and care plans of specific patients. The show set that in contrast to the physicians, who it suggested depend heavily on charting. The episode even suggested that Carla had some independent problem-solving ability. Of course, the episode on the whole reflected the physician-centric approach the show has taken since the beginning. But as "Scrubs" nears the possible end of its run in mid-May, we thank Mr. Stegemann and the other producers for this effort to highlight nursing expertise. more...

Can any idiot be a nurse? Don't forget the sponge baths and happy endings!

February 8, 2005 -- Tonight's episode of NBC's "Scrubs," entitled "My Quarantine" and written by Tad Quill, is a good example of the "just trying to help" school of inaccurate and harmful television nursing depictions, a school epitomized by an October 2003 "ER" episode. Such shows often involve nurse characters confronting difficult situations or negative attitudes in a way that show creators may think is promoting respect for nursing, but which in fact sends even more powerful damaging messages because of the sympathetic intent. In this "Scrubs" episode, the most striking example is a surgeon character's affirmation that "any idiot can be a nurse." We see that the nurse to whom this surgeon is married strongly disagrees--but we never see why. The obvious conclusion: he's rude, but maybe he's right. more...

The young quarterback

January 18, 2005 -- Tonight's episode of NBC's "Scrubs," written by Mark Stegemann, presents nurses as wide-eyed subordinates whose job during codes is to call out a vital sign or two, then wait for heroic, all-knowing physicians to issue commands and save the day. The episode, directed by Ken Whittingham, is entitled "My Ocardial Infarction." It could have been worse; the nurses are shown to have some knowledge and some role in codes. On balance, it's not much of an improvement for "Scrubs," which has virtually ignored nursing this year, though it may be a step up for Stegemann, whose horrific 2003 episode "My Fifteen Seconds" purported to teach nurses that nursing was all about shutting up and following physician orders. Click here to read more and send a letter to "Scrubs"!

"Scrubs" defines nursing: it's all about shutting up and following physician "orders"

November 20, 2003 -- Tonight's episode of NBC's "Scrubs," which purports to teach nurse Carla Espinosa that nursing is all about doing what physicians tell you, is one of the most virulently anti-nurse prime time television episodes the Center has ever seen. more...

Second "Scrubs" episode with Rick Schroder continues positive depiction of male nurse

February 21, 2003 -- The February 20 "Scrubs" episode again featured Rick Schroder's portrayal of Paul Flowers, the confident, witty and sensitive nurse character currently dating physician Elliot Reed (Sarah Chalke). more...

Men at work: Is "Scrubs" hurting or helping male nurses?

January 30, 2003 -- The January 30 episode of the popular NBC show "Scrubs" guest starred Rick Schroeder as hunky nurse Paul Flowers, who catches the eye of physician Elliot Reed (Sarah Chalke). more...

Read our "Scrubs" review.