Medical shows vs the real thing?

showbizrn · Jan 14, 2008

:idea:

er uses nurse/medical consultants to supervise the accuracy and reality of the scenes. all television programs aim for heightened drama so role distortions sometimes are portrayed by the medical and nursing staff.

remember: the survival of a tv-show is highly dependent on the nielson ratings.

gt4everpn, BSN, RN · Jan 14, 2008

Well organized chaos is a reality say in the ER or ICU, as far a there being a million people in a room doing a hundred different things but all the drama is fake, (well not always, at least in some hospitals I've been in:chair:but anyway, the show ER kills me how the family is in the room screaming at everyone while the medical team is trying to revive the patient, that doesnt happen in real life, the family has to stay outside the ER!

allnurses Guide · Jan 14, 2008

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House is actually pretty fascinating as they focus heavily on symptoms/diagnosis etc. Have I ever researched it to see if it is all right? Nah, but the stuff I do recognize has usually been pretty close to spot on.

There is a book about the scenarios on House that was very good.

http://www.amazon.com/Medical-Science-House-M-D/dp/B000QTD5O8/ref=pd_bbs_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1200328854&sr=1-1

"The Medical Science of House, M.D." by Andrew Holtz

I like and watch ER and Grey's Anatomy and sometimes House. I used to like Scrubs but not so much anymore. My oldest son loves it.

Sometimes the romance stuff does actually happen in real life. .

steph

getoverit, BSN, RN, EMT-P · Jan 14, 2008

I can't really watch any of those shows because they're all so far-fetched. In the first few years, ER was great because it focused on symptoms. We used to watch it and try to guess the diagnosis before it was revealed (hey, Dr. Green just missed that pre-eclampsia....then she'd seize later in the parking lot and get rushed to the unit. We loved that stuff!)

My wife watches Grey's, Private Practice, ER, etc....and it's been made clear to me that I"m not allowed to watch them with her. Mainly because they're not really about medicine anymore and I"m always saying "o my gosh, that's ridiculous. there's no way, that's the stupidest thing I've ever seen!!" You show me a hospital where the surgical interns are laying around on the floor in the stairwell, talking about who's sleeping with another one, badmouthing each other in front of patient's families, etc.

but I will have to say that sometimes hospitals aren't much different than high schools when it comes down to it.

I love police dramas and forsensic shows, but I can't stand the M.E. on CSI:Miami. She's always standing over a murdered person and saying things like "Poor baby boy. His mama didn't mean for it to end like this." It's awful but I watch it every week.

allnurses Guide · Jan 14, 2008

I can't really watch any of those shows because they're all so far-fetched. In the first few years, ER was great because it focused on symptoms. We used to watch it and try to guess the diagnosis before it was revealed (hey, Dr. Green just missed that pre-eclampsia....then she'd seize later in the parking lot and get rushed to the unit. We loved that stuff!)
My wife watches Grey's, Private Practice, ER, etc....and it's been made clear to me that I"m not allowed to watch them with her. Mainly because they're not really about medicine anymore and I"m always saying "o my gosh, that's ridiculous. there's no way, that's the stupidest thing I've ever seen!!" You show me a hospital where the surgical interns are laying around on the floor in the stairwell, talking about who's sleeping with another one, badmouthing each other in front of patient's families, etc.
but I will have to say that sometimes hospitals aren't much different than high schools when it comes down to it.
I love police dramas and forsensic shows, but I can't stand the M.E. on CSI:Miami. She's always standing over a murdered person and saying things like "Poor baby boy. His mama didn't mean for it to end like this." It's awful but I watch it every week.

I forgot . . . I watch "Private Practice" too.

And I watch all the CSI shows .. . I have to chuckle that all the women show so much cleavage - that seems unrealistic in a professional atmosphere. Also, the rooms are so dark.

I really like Law & Order: SVU too.

steph

getoverit, BSN, RN, EMT-P · Jan 14, 2008

I forgot . . . I watch "Private Practice" too.
And I watch all the CSI shows .. . I have to chuckle that all the women show so much cleavage - that seems unrealistic in a professional atmosphere. Also, the rooms are so dark.
I really like Law & Order: SVU too.
steph

yeah, not only is the cleavage unrealistic but my wife always laughs when the women are walking around on the beach in high heels!

SVU is great, I like Criminal Intent a little better.

We are definitely Law & Order addicts, one of our first dates she asked me what I wanted to do. I said "If we weren't on a date I"d be home watching Law & Order." She said "me too!!!" Pathetic....I know, but we've been together ever since.

allnurses Guide · Jan 14, 2008

yeah, not only is the cleavage unrealistic but my wife always laughs when the women are walking around on the beach in high heels!
SVU is great, I like Criminal Intent a little better.
We are definitely Law & Order addicts, one of our first dates she asked me what I wanted to do. I said "If we weren't on a date I"d be home watching Law & Order." She said "me too!!!" Pathetic....I know, but we've been together ever since.

I really like Mariska Hargitay's character .. . and I like Criminal Intent too.

steph

Tait, MSN, RN · Jan 14, 2008

Missing are the large numbers of elderly and chronically ill or disabled people who form a large percent of the hospital population.
Missing are the respiratory therapists. Doctors and nurses do all the patient care it seems.
Missing are the foreign docs with accents you understand only with great difficulty.

Here here!!

Ruby Vee, BSN · Jan 15, 2008

i watch er and general hospital. one of the actors on gh is actually an lpn in real life, and for awhile there the hospital scenes were fairly realistic. not so much anymore, though. they have nurses coming in late, leaving early, going on "break" and changing into a fancy cocktail dress for dinner and drinks at the fanciest hotel in town with an ex-husband and then showing up back at work. like that's going to happen!

i love er, but some of the medical stuff is pretty "out there." when they hear hoofbeats, they go looking for unicorns and zebras rather than plain old horses! and er is a drama -- which means many of the scenes are a little over the top in the drama department. unfortunately, many families these days seem to take their cues on how to act from er!

DutchgirlRN, ASN, RN · Jan 15, 2008

I don't like watching the medical shows because I feel like they are unrealistic. How many nurses or doctors do you know who go visit the patients at home to encourage them to have a surgery they are afraid to have?

General Hospital is hillarious in their portrayal of nurses and doctors. They all work on the same floor together. One day it can be the cardiac floor, next surgical, next ER. They do it all. The patients names are on their doors and their charts are in a holder by the door. The nurses go to nursing school and poof in a couple of months they are RN's. It just goes on and on. Totally hillarious!

allnurses Guide · Jan 15, 2008

I don't like watching the medical shows because I feel like they are unrealistic. How many nurses or doctors do you know who go visit the patients at home to encourage them to have a surgery they are afraid to have?

Our docs all make house calls.

I like medical shows and don't care if they are unrealistic. It is TV - it is supposed to be dramatized.

Speaking of which . . . .I've experienced living with off and on drama where I used to work. Affairs. Illegitimate children. Trysts in the doctor's lounge . . . . NOT ME . .. other people. I've just seen it.

steph

DutchgirlRN, ASN, RN · Jan 15, 2008

Our docs all make house calls.
steph

Is it like hospice or something?