patients on reality TV

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Specializes in critical care, PACU.

Tonight I saw TLC's Emergency Level One and was quite shocked when they chronicled the coorifice of treatment for a severely burned teenager who eventually died. They did no reenactments, it was all real raw footage at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. The patient was obviously shocky and severely edematous and they showed this (and the blood soaked sheets) for all the world to see.

In the same episode the showed an ethical dilemma where I wife went against her husband's advanced directive and trached him and sent him to a SNF. I thought the commentary about the ethical dilemma was good to see, but still felt it was a tad exploitative to show such detail regarding the dying teenager.

Have you seen shows like these? What do you think about using patients in reality TV? And what would you do if your hospital wanted to participate in filming you caring for your patients for television?

Here's a link to the episode timings: http://tlc.discovery.com/tv-schedules/series.html?paid=2.1213.56162.38356.2

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Specializes in med/surg and Tele.

If I am not mistaken, they would get family permission to put such things on the air. They wouldnt just walk into the ER,film and walk out them air it for the world.

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Specializes in critical care, PACU.

Oh definitely, consent is a given, but even with consent I still thought it was so exploitative the way they showed all the emotional aspects and up close and personal with this edematous, intubated poor kid

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Specializes in VA-BC, CRNI.

eh...its educational is it not?

Hell, I bet you yourself are making a pretty penny off of the sick, vulnerable and dying aren't you?

Me too...its a type of exploitation. I know everyone will say that we get paid to help the sick, vulnerable and dying but the fact remains, we make money off of their pain. The more they suffer the more they are willing to pay us.

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Specializes in Cardiac Telemetry, ED.

I found the show quite interesting and educational. I find it far less offensive than programming that glorifies violence and promotes unrealistic ideals of beauty.

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Specializes in Peds/outpatient FP,derm,allergy/private duty.
eh...its educational is it not?

Hell, I bet you yourself are making a pretty penny off of the sick, vulnerable and dying aren't you?

Me too...its a type of exploitation. I know everyone will say that we get paid to help the sick, vulnerable and dying but the fact remains, we make money off of their pain. The more they suffer the more they are willing to pay us.

Let's carry that logic a little further. Anyone who helps others for a living is exploiting them. Fireman helps burn victim. Teachers exploit students. They make a pretty penny teaching kids to read. Police officers exploit crime victims. They make a pretty penny off their losses.

It's pretty insulting to invalidate OPs concerns with such an in-your-face snarkfest. What was the point to that?

I haven't seen TLC Emergency One. But I am a total Code Blue, Trauma-Life in the ER, Untold Stories of the ER, Bronx: 911 junkie. Never seen anything that graphic. Most of the time they veer away from covering a death. People do agree to these things for various reasons. Many times they do it to highlight an issue in hopes of helping someone else.

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Specializes in critical care, PACU.
Most of the time they veer away from covering a death. People do agree to these things for various reasons. Many times they do it to highlight an issue in hopes of helping someone else.

Very true. I was also thinking that maybe the mother was trying to preserve the memory of her son but there was just something so unsavory about the graphic nature of the footage. It's like they were going for shock value rather than dignity. I dont mind blood and guts, but when I see it realistically in 52" high definition without the consent of the boy himself, I find it wrong. Also, they never really highlighted anything about fire safety or prevention.

The coverage on the advanced directive guy was good, because the doctor commented on how he felt bad about the wife going against the AD, but then the guy lives, so that gives families this false view that this will happen for their loved one too.

Also, they dont really take the opportunity to include nurses like the other reality ED shows do. In this show, they werent included in commentary and were just hanging IVs in the background.

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Specializes in critical care, PACU.

Hell, I bet you yourself are making a pretty penny off of the sick, vulnerable and dying aren't you?

Perhaps, although I dont just make money off of critically ill people to sport them around on a television to millions of people. I make money off of advocating for them and ensuring that their needs are met and trying my damnedest to not let them die.

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Specializes in Peds/outpatient FP,derm,allergy/private duty.

I agree there is a very fine line between reality TV, ethics and sensationalism. When we know right off the bat the TV people are in the game of attracting viewers, we should advocate for patients- even the ones on our TV screens!

Something happened to me recently that brought this issue into full focus. I admit I'm probably somewhat desensitized to scenes of trauma, surgery, vents etc., on TV because I've seen them so many times. Well a couple of days ago a friend sent me a CD of hundreds of family photos, camping, graduations, etc. Though I didn't know it, there were about 15 pictures of a friend who had passed away last year right in the middle of the other pics. It depicted him in ICU, paralyzed, intubated, trademark Orthodox beard and hair shaven off, tubes, eyes taped shut. I gasped and started to cry it was sooo awful. :( Apparently there was some issue with his care but no one deleted the pictures. We should never lose our sensitivity to these images!

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