The TV medical sitcom-drama "Scrubs" features numerous references to "The House of God", which was reading material for some of the show's writers.[https://web.archive.org/web/20080403191442/http://scrubs.mopnt.com/faqs/]. "Turfing", "Bouncing" and "Gomers" occasionally feature in the show's dialogue. In the episode "My Balancing Act", Dr. Cox quotes the Zebra rule ("Newbie, do you happen to know what a zebra is? It's a diagnosis of a ridiculously obscure disease when it's much more likely that the patient has a common illness presenting with uncommon symptoms. In other words, if you hear hoof-beats, you just go ahead and think horsies -- not zebras.") And in the episode "My Student", J.D. quotes the medical student rule, "A famous doctor once said, 'Show me a med student that only triples my work, and I'll kiss his feet.'" One episode focuses on Dr. Dorian saving a patient by "doing nothing," which is a major theme of the novel.