Scrubbing In…needs to be scrubbed OUT.

The Twitter and Facebook accounts of the nursing community are fired up after the premier of MTV's new reality series, Scrubbing In, debuted a few weeks ago. A Jersey Shore version of nursing, Scrubbing In has enraged nurses from around the globe with its misguided representation of the nursing profession. Barbara Mildon (2013), president of the Canadian Nursing Association, which represents 150,000 registered nurses from across Canada, wrote a letter to MTV stating, " Scrubbing In's dramatized account of nurses' lives trivializes the critical work they perform. All of their hard work, from studying and gaining experience, to answering nursing's call, will be overshadowed by typical 'reality' show fodder. " Dianne Martin (2013), executive director of the Registered Practical Nurses Association of Ontario, representing more than 38,000 RPNs throughout the province, also wrote, " I could tell you that, as a nurse, I'm insulted by the show's stereotypical characterization of nurses. I could tell you that stereotypes are ignorant, demeaning and damaging. I could tell you that the caricature of the 'sexy nurse' is outdated and worn out. " Nurses are indeed fuming at MTV's portrayal of their work. While petitions to cancel the series are being signed and blog posts are carving out their opinions, I ask: " How did we get here? " How did our profession turn into a reality series that associates nursing with partying, drinking, dancing and sexual philandering, rather than with the intelligent and respectful contribution to expert clinical care that we know it to be? And… is MTV the culprit here? After all, the channel is in the business of entertaining. Money is what drives its mandate, regardless of who or what it is exploiting. I am by no means arguing that what MTV is doing is right or justified. But I do think that nurses, as a profession, need to take some responsibility for allowing these " reality " stars (consider – they really are nurses) to misrepresent who we are as professionals. 29 COMMENTARY After watching a presentation on leadership by Drew Dudley (TED Conferences 2010), I realized that this situation might be merely the symptom of a " missed opportunity. " Do we recognize and make visible the scope, breadth and depth of nursing knowledge, skill and leadership as it plays out across our nation every day? While we do formally acknowledge the leadership of our most prestigious and esteemed …