TV shows about the ER and Trauma

[new_and_curious]

Hi all,

As you can see I have just joined the forum. I am not a nursing student and I have never visited a hospital ER myself. Over the last four months or so I have seen many TV shows (like Emergency with Alex Paen and Code Red (on Reality TV), Trauma (on Discovery channel) etc). In all of these we are shown doctors and nurses taking care of patients just brought in, all of whom have suffered some kind of trauma. I have found these shows to be very interesting because these show us what actually happens inside the ER. They are shot on location as things are actually happening. But there is one persistent factor that I have noticed and I want people who really work in the hostpital ER to please comment on it and verify or deny it. The thing that is bothering me is the difference in the style of care that a patient receives when a male or female patient is first brought in. These programs almost always show that the male patients are stripped completely naked especially when they have suffered some kind of shock (as in a road accident). They are examined in detail (physically) to locate any visible injuries (the genital region is always pixelated in the TV shows to protect patient modesty). But for the female patients we see that they are usually kept covered as much as possible with a sheet even if they have to be stripped.

Does it really happen this way in real life? How do the doctors locate injuries of the female patients? If they need to strip the male patients and keep them naked for some time for the physical examination, don't they need to perform the same kind of physical exam of the female patients? Is it that these TV shows only show the males being examined but in reality both males and females receive the same kind of examination and care?

Thanks in advance for anybody who cares to respond.

[Aneroo, LPN]

Good question. I'm still a student, but spent a lot of time in the ED as a volunteer as a kid, and have worked as an EMT. When a trauma patient is brought in, a thorough exam is done, and yes, it usually involves cutting their clothes off if they're even still on (I know some scissor-happy EMT's). However, I have never seen them let the patient sit there naked. When possible, at minimum their genitals are covered, and they're usually given several warm blankets. If they're been in an MVC, think of how long they're been outside in the cold air, possible already with clothing cut off. I've also found the shock trauma rooms are WARM! Between 15 peopel running around, warm blankets, and a lead vest, I thought I had lost 5 pounds in sweat alone! :chuckle But anywho, the patients I've seen are covered as soon as possible. -Andrea

[Rollins]

Everyone is "trauma Stripped" (or should be). One cannot fully examine a patient with clothes still on. Yes, the females tend to be better covered than the males, but it should be the same for both. Have respect for everyone's privacy.

[NurseFirst]

Everyone is "trauma Stripped" (or should be). One cannot fully examine a patient with clothes still on. Yes, the females tend to be better covered than the males, but it should be the same for both. Have respect for everyone's privacy.

Someone told me--here on this board, I believe--that they actually had to sign a waiver for one of these shows to actually show them on an episode. Perhaps women, knowing they've been stripped naked, are much less likely to sign the consent? If the trauma victim doesn't survive, I would guess that the family would be more reluctant to sign for a woman as well.

But yes, as a prior poster stated, everyone gets trauma-stripped, or should be. I remember some medics who told me that they've trauma-stripped pts in the street and been threatened with assault for doing so.

NurseFirst

[new_and_curious]

Someone told me--here on this board, I believe--that they actually had to sign a waiver for one of these shows to actually show them on an episode. Perhaps women, knowing they've been stripped naked, are much less likely to sign the consent? If the trauma victim doesn't survive, I would guess that the family would be more reluctant to sign for a woman as well.

But yes, as a prior poster stated, everyone gets trauma-stripped, or should be. I remember some medics who told me that they've trauma-stripped pts in the street and been threatened with assault for doing so.

NurseFirst

I too think that this should be the reason but what I wanted was the opinion of somebody who has actually worked in the ER. Do you have first hand experience in this regard?