As seen on TV

[JBMmom]

Recently I had a patient tell me that if CPR was necessary, we would not have to break his wife's ribs because just the night before he watched House, and they just shocked a patient and then she was fine. (would have been funny if it weren't so sad)

What are your favorite medical TV inaccuracies?

I love the CPR with bending elbows, and how patients come out of surgery, still under because of anesthesia, but they're on room air, or maybe a nasal cannula.

[Silly_Sally_RN]

Can we include movies? I love watching While You Were Sleeping during the holidays, but it gets me every time when I hear a vent in the background of Peter's ICU room. Peter, who's in a coma, is not intubated and does not have a roommate. I guess the sound people thought it wouldn't be "real" enough if there weren't medical sounds.

There also is an episode of ER where the nurses strike except for Carol (I think because she was management). A trauma comes in and the patient winds up dying because Carol hung the wrong blood. Turns out the patient in the trauma room earlier that day needed blood and something happened (can't remember what), but the blood wasn't given. New patient comes in and Carol accidentally hooks up the prior patient's blood. In addition to being the wrong type, I cringe at the thought of how long the blood was sitting there (and how poorly the room was cleaned)!

A common thing I notice is how patients, especially those in comas, are always on their backs (unless plot dictates - a Grey's Anatomy episode comes to mind). There must be tons of HAPIs in TV hospitals!

[jennylee321]

I know there was a big uproar among nurses when mcdreamy's ETT was only in at like 5cm

[crazin01]

ER: Benton successfully did a precordial thump. (had amazing timing to hit appropriate rhythm)

[Night__Owl, BSN, RN]

Davey, I don't mean she puts it in his AC vein. I mean she jams it straight into the bend of his elbow as deep as it will go, like it's a shot of epi to the thigh.

Also, that scene in Mad Max: Fury Road where he gives Furiosa a direct transfusion of his own blood. A bent, dull needle in a woman who has hemorrhaged heavily, and he hits the vein first try.

[TriciaJ, RN]

Some character did 5 chest compressions (yes, slowly with bent elbows) then pronounced, "I'm sorry, but he's gone."

Well, he would be, wouldn't he?

[guest769224]

I particularly enjoy Law and Order SVU, and every time someone ends up hospitalized, I have paid special attention to the monitoring they have.

The display on the monitor will show about 10 different waveforms or more, including arterial lines, CVP, ICP, PA, and BIS, in addition to all the regular baseline RR, SpO2, HR, BP, etc. monitoring. It makes me chuckle because all they all those monitors on a walkie talkie patient on room air with no sign of IV access anywhere, no IV pumps, no anything. I just like the show, even if they're way off base for hospital scenes.

[EDNURSE20, BSN]

Some character did 5 chest compressions (yes, slowly with bent elbows) then pronounced, "I'm sorry, but he's gone."

Or the opposite. Couple of compressions and they are suddenly alive and completely back to normal like nothing happened.

[Sparki77]

Chest compressions.... I hyper fixate on their "technique". Omg it aggravates me to no end. Also the monitors......all lit up and not a line in sight. I read it all too.

** fun topic by the way**

[CrunchRN, ADN, RN]

[ATTACH=CONFIG]28096[/ATTACH]

That is hilarious Davey Do!

[DowntheRiver]

Also, that scene in Mad Max: Fury Road where he gives Furiosa a direct transfusion of his own blood. A bent, dull needle in a woman who has hemorrhaged heavily, and he hits the vein first try.

This is post-apocalyptic, so I'll give this one a little leeway.

[LibraSunCNM, BSN, MSN, CNM]

I've always found it puzzling how common it is in movies or on TV for people to mysteriously be unconscious after traumatic events for like...days. After a car accident, miscarriage, broken bone, or who knows what, they "wake up" in the hospital, on room air, but have been "out" for extended periods of time with no memory of what happened. However they also do not appear to have been intubated/sedated during that time, they were just asleep.

[rn1965, ADN]

The worst was that series, The Night Shift. Every dang episode had the ER docs and surgeons going into the field, and doing some sort of miraculous rescue. Um, no, just no!