Bob Kelso

Robert Kelso, M.D., is a fictional character played by Ken Jenkins in the American comedy-drama Scrubs.

Bob Kelso is the chief of medicine for Sacred Heart Hospital for the first seven seasons of Scrubs (a position held since 1985), though he resigns in the episode "My Dumb Luck". Kelso appeared in every episode during the first eight seasons except three Season 8 episodes, "My Last Words", "Their Story II" and "My Full Moon".

Jenkins was a regular cast member for the first eight seasons, and appeared in nine episodes of season nine.

Of all the Scrubs characters, he goes through the most pronounced change as the series progresses. In the first few seasons, he appears to be a cynical, heartless man who gives mere lip service to patients' well-being, putting more value on the hospital's bottom line and his own personal comfort. In a moment of brutal candor in the series premiere, Kelso tells series protagonist John "J.D." Dorian, "Do you not realize that you're nothing but a large pair of scrubs to me?" Throughout the series, though, events suggest that Kelso's cynicism is a defense mechanism to deal with the pressures of his position. In later seasons he gradually becomes more compassionate, and after retirement, he remains in the other characters' lives as a grandfatherly figure.

Throughout the series, he is at odds with Dr. Perry Cox (John C. McGinley), Sacred Heart's Chief Attending Physician who eventually replaces him as Chief of Medicine. Cox calls him "Bobbo" or some other variation, often refers to him as a "pod person" or "the Devil himself", and once even punches him out. The two have occasionally shared moments of understanding and compassion, however, such as when Kelso tells a depressed Cox that the hospital and Kelso himself needs him, as they balance each other out to do what is best for the hospital. After his retirement, Kelso becomes more openly friendly with Cox.

His wife, Enid, and children are never seen on the show, although he frequently comments on his spouse, describing her as morbidly obese, neurotic, and using a wheelchair after an accident that left her paralyzed. Enid was a nurse working at the hospital during his early days as an M.D. and he has one child by her, a son called Harrison, a gay, drug-dealing heavy metal fan who wrote a scathing musical about him titled Dr. Dad and "shacked up" with the actor playing Kelso. Kelso also has a secret love child, Trong Tri Kelso, by a Vietnamese woman he had an affair with during his tour in Vietnam. Although he considers his children to be embarrassing, it is shown he genuinely loves Harrison and pays for Trong Tri's college education. He frequently cheats on his wife, and is open about his love of prostitutes. Kelso also suffers from a sexually transmitted disease which he has kept hidden from Enid.

Kelso was born in 1942 in Monroeville, Pennsylvania, where his family, then named Kelsonovich, settled. His father, also a doctor, endeared himself to his poorer patients by accepting gifts such as food and clothing in lieu of actual payment. The elder Kelso was apparently less generous to his own family, however, and he left the family on Kelso's own bicycle (an event to which Kelso attributes his irrational hatred of bikes). Before becoming a doctor, Kelso had a promising career as a shortstop; however, his treatment of other players earned him a permanent ban from the Appalachian League. Kelso attended medical school at Stanford University, graduating 12th in his class in 1968. Kelso was in the United States Navy SEALs during the Vietnam War. He has a tattoo of the word "Johnny" on his buttocks ("...he's an old sailor buddy, and if you went through what we did, you'd understand"). Kelso claimed to have joined Sacred Heart Hospital when he was 26, meaning he likely joined after graduating from Stanford in 1968. He also claimed to have been promoted to Chief of Medicine in 1985.

In the seventh season, he turns 65, which is the hospital's mandatory retirement age. The hospital board of directors begins actively searching for a replacement, but Kelso's forced retirement is headed off with the help of the staff. He then decides to retire on his own terms, after reminiscing with Boon, a new intern, outside of the hospital. Amidst his ramblings, he reveals that he truly does love the hospital and the people who work there. The discussion reveals that the first person he "killed" (a rite of passage for doctors) was a 19-year-old pregnant girl whom he mis-diagnosed. At the end of this episode, he takes one last look at the hospital and drives off into the sunset.