Ridiculous medical mistakes on TV

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We've all heard it: nurses can't watch medical shows without getting annoyed about how inaccurate they are. Lately, I'm finding that the most ridiculous medical mistakes happen on police procedural dramas (Law and Order, Criminal Minds, etc.); at least the medical shows have people with medical backgrounds advising them.

Anybody have some funny tv medical mistakes to share??

Last week I was watching a rerun of Criminal Minds. The victim had been drugged with haldol by her kidnapper. When the police rushed in to save her, the EMS gave her a bolus of narcan and she magically awoke. It was a flipping miracle!! ?

Specializes in ER, Med-Surg/Telemetry.

Wait I almost forgot my #1 Grey's favorite! I love how most of the time they belittle the nurses but whenever a patient seizes or something happens they're always shouting "Nurse! I need a nurse in here!!" Oh, now you need me :)

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Specializes in ER, Med-Surg/Telemetry.
Watching some show with the fam the other night.

They coded a guy "he's in ventricular fibulation" in TV style, stacked the shocks (charge to 50-shock, charge to 200-shock) with no compressions, no meds administered, then tube the guy(no bagging), and began transport because "we have to get him out of here while he's unstable"

Ack!!! Probably the worst TV code I've seen.

How do I make code/nursing accuracy consultant for TV/movies a thing? I would to that job.

I know I love when they just keep shocking and no one is doing CPR!

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Specializes in Cardio-Pulmonary; Med-Surg; Private Duty.
My biggest pet peeve, besides the bent-elbow CPR, was an episode of Desperate Housewives. Not a medical show, but this was a big storyline one season. Susan needed immediate surgery because she had a "wandering spleen which could crash into her heart" so she remarried her ex-husband the day before surgery to get on his health insurance. Don't get me started on her medical diagnosis, but the insurance fraud and pre-existing condition would have been huge problems! LOL.

How about the fact that Susan later ended up on dialysis, but never had an AV fistula?

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Specializes in Cardio-Pulmonary; Med-Surg; Private Duty.

How do I make code/nursing accuracy consultant for TV/movies a thing? I would to that job.

The sad thing is, they DO have medical consultants listed in the credits for these shows. I think the person just glances at the cover of each week's script and signs off, though, b/c they certainly don't examine the dialogue, props, or watch the actual taping!

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Specializes in Stepdown, PCCN.
The sad thing is, they DO have medical consultants listed in the credits for these shows. I think the person just glances at the cover of each week's script and signs off, though, b/c they certainly don't examine the dialogue, props, or watch the actual taping!

How do I get that job?

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Specializes in Cardiac/Telemetry.

In an episode of Nurse Jackie, she diverted a bunch of fentanyl patches. At the very end of the episode, they show her wearing one of the patches on the back of one of her arms (in the tricep area). The patch very clearly said "Fentanyl 100mg" -- you better hope there's not 100MILLIgrams of fent in that patch or she'd be dead!! 100 MICROgrams sounds more like it.

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Specializes in ICU.
Are you sure it was afib rvr and not SVT? We cardizem our rvrs. I was under the impression that this is the standard.

Old post, I know, but just noticed and I feel like responding. :)

We usually end up doing cardizem or amio, but if the patient is crazy unstable with the a-fib with RVR (as in, we gave them adenosine to slow it down so we can see it's a-fib, but the rate is 180 and the BP is really in the toilet), we sometimes try cardioverting first. It takes higher levels of energy than converting SVT - we start at 200J, usually. It rarely works, but it's sometimes worth a shot.

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Specializes in Pediatrics/Developmental Pediatrics/Research/psych.

In Doogie Houser, MD, he does a surgery on Wanda because no one else is available. However, as he is not scheduled to work at that time, this seems awfully unrealistic.

I know, none of the show is realistic.

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Specializes in Med nurse in med-surg., float, HH, and PDN.

Not sticking up for the poorly depicted fake codes and all, but would you like to be the actor in the bed getting the straight-elbow compressions? OUCH!

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Specializes in critical care.
Old post, I know, but just noticed and I feel like responding. :)

We usually end up doing cardizem or amio, but if the patient is crazy unstable with the a-fib with RVR (as in, we gave them adenosine to slow it down so we can see it's a-fib, but the rate is 180 and the BP is really in the toilet), we sometimes try cardioverting first. It takes higher levels of energy than converting SVT - we start at 200J, usually. It rarely works, but it's sometimes worth a shot.

I just had an RVR patient get a pacemaker for rate support. Didn't even consider that a pacemaker will zap people at a higher rate. Same idea as what you're saying, though. Thank you for your response. I like not looking surprised when the MDs suggest something not regularly done. :)

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I present "The Human Centipede"

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I won't show a more graphic image...

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Specializes in Med nurse in med-surg., float, HH, and PDN.
I present "The Human Centipede"

attachment.php?attachmentid=19339&stc=1

I won't show a more graphic image...

I saw a very similar cartoon in The New Yorker, only the men were in suits and ties, and the words below said "Businessmen on parade" :lol2:

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