Abc.comFrom Health magazine

Nurses get so little respect. They deliver critical care to anyone whos sick—and constantly get grief from both patients and doctors. But on hit comedy Scrubs, actress Judy Reyes gives as good as she gets as feisty nurse Carla Espinoza. Reyes is no stranger to dealing with doctors and nurses: Her sisters a licensed nurse practitioner, her dads had multiple surgeries, and her mom is a breast cancer survivor. Health spoke with the 39-year-old actress about giving nurses the props they deserve.

Q: Does your sister think your character gets nurses right?

A: When she first saw the pilot, she said, “You stole my character!” She thinks I adopted her “no bones, no bull” attitude. And her real love of the work. She did inspire me, but I also trailed nurses at a few hospitals and I saw how confident and strong they were. When interns come in, theyre all about earning their stripes, and they think they can boss you around because theyre doctors and youre a nurse. But if youve been working in that hospital 9 or 10 years, they also have to rely on your expertise. We exploit that tension for laughs on Scrubs.

Q: So that means patients can rely more on nurses than doctors?

A: Rely on yourself first. Ive learned that its super-helpful to inform yourself and trust your inquisitive instinct. Ive made the rounds of hospitals and Ive seen how its easy to treat medical professionals, doctors or nurses, as gods. Over time, you start to see that theyre human—capable of making mistakes. My mom was misdiagnosed at first, and had she not been, she might have been able to keep her breast. So dont be shamed into silence.

Q: Why do real nurses seem overworked and stressed out?

A: Nurses are often delaying taking care of themselves to take care of others. We think people in the health-care profession should live by example, but they dont. I think my sister certainly takes better care of her patients and kids than she does of herself. Thats hard.

Q: Now that shes been around awhile, has Carla become a role model for nurses in training?