Oh, Really Now?

Written by Naomi Moss

“I’m in!” shouts the doctor, as nurses and staff are scrambling around the patient. The camera pans to an angle where you can see a breathing tube neatly inserted and attention is drawn to the handsome doctor giving directions while nurses clamor to chat with “Dr. Cutie,” who saved the patient and the day.

It’s not real life, but it sure does fascinate us—so much so that medical shows almost outnumber any other type of show on TV. Because even though it seems a little surreal, we secretly hope that hour of television bliss is as real as it gets.

But is there any truth to these television emergency room dramas? Are long medical words used, let alone thrown across the room, every five minutes? The writers could put in anything and we wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between a common ailment and an exotic diagnosis. Rest assured, dear reader, there are some who live the life that these medical show characters are based on. So we took this opportunity to ask a few real life doctors what they think about medical dramas and their television counterparts.

Dr. Todd Peterson laughed when he saw any doctor on ER shout, “I’m in!”

“We just don’t do that,” he said. But aside from a simple mistake of shouting to the world a procedure was performed (after all, breathing tubes are inserted in emergency rooms), Peterson maintains that ER was regularly the most accurate in depicting real life.

“Other than that, most of the terminology is correct.”

Not only was it correct wordage in each situation; it was even pronounced correctly.

That said, just because a television show gets a few words correct, it doesn’t mean the show was accurate on everything. Do people really come into the emergency room with the odd things depicted in each episode? Dr. Josh Tobias said no.

“ER was more supernatural than real,” he explained. In real life, “someone is always working, not just once a week.” So during a regular shift, you’re not seeing those exotic diseases.

“ER had dramatic cases,” agreed Peterson. “In fact, they were all dramatic.

In one episode of ER, we might see those same cases [over the course of] a year!”

“Medical TV series, like law TV series, require suspension of disbelief; a physical activity that requires five calories per minute in energy requirement,” said Dr. Edward Nichols. “That is why most of my friends in the field in general don’t watch these.”

Just because it can and does happen, doesn’t mean it happens every day. The emergency room can be the dramatic place you see on television; it can also be quiet and routine. A patient may be in a life-threatening situation, but the next person may not.

So, television does embellish real life. That’s kind of a given.

“Some of the drama is real enough that it accurately portrays the darker side of the medical business,” Dr. Nichols explained. Shows like Grey’s Anatomy try to depict this aspect. “Working in hospitals and in medicine is a demanding and difficult environment. It requires the ability to coexist with innumerable amounts of staff, and sometimes incredible stress.”

“There is not as much drama in an emergency room as there is on the show(s). We never sleep when on duty,” Dr. Tobias explained. “There are always patients and we’re always on the move.”

Peterson acknowledged the drama is exaggerated on television, but added, “The ER is dramatic. The show (ER) did portray the camaraderie in the ER pretty well. You have to have camaraderie. It’s a massive team effort.”

“ER doctors and nurses get along. They look out for one another,” Dr. Tobias continued. “They form bonds with one another and experience the best and worst with each other.”

When doctors, nurses, assistants, and technicians all get together in the emergency room, it’s like a finely-tuned machine. Each part relies on the seamless talent of their neighbor and moves with efficiency to provide top notch care.

Perhaps that is why emergency room shows are so popular. To be able to work 12-hour shifts with the same people, day in and day out, takes patience and understanding. When it runs smoothly, it’s beautiful. With television, you can add underlying drama to make it even more interesting.

“The cable show Nurse Jackie reminds me most of what the medical field is like,” Dr. Nichols said. “People with frailties and weak character, helping other people with frailties and weak character. Nurse Jackie is as compassionate about her patients as she is about conning the pharmacist out of his narcotics in exchange for who knows what…Fortunately, in real life those people usually get fired.”

So even though the drama is enhanced for your entertainment, Peterson does admit that romance occasionally happens. So Grey’s Anatomy fans can relax. But definitely not to the extent it’s explored on most shows.

“It’s not a regular thing, but it does happen,” he said, chuckling. “Dating [in the workplace] is a double edged sword. I don’t recommend it.”

Any time people are working in a close knit environment, emotions can and will run high. Not always are those emotions romantic either. There’s the nutty nurse, the gruff doctor, and the high-strung chief of staff. They’re all archetypes for characters we see on a weekly basis.

Indeed, the emergency room television shows all have the one doctor who has horrible bedside manners and cannot get along with anyone else. Perhaps the most famous irritable doctor could be Dr. House on House.

“He says stuff doctors want to say!” Peterson said with a smile. But aside from the smart-mouthed, know-it-all, House really doesn’t portray an emergency room at all. “He’s more of a diagnostician. Those are in big care centers, like UCLA,” Peterson added.

“House is the most outlandish of all of the shows,” Dr. Nichols said, chuckling. “Rare fascinomas are diagnosed by Dr. House and his band of ignorant, but well-meaning ‘Watsons’ masquerading as resident physicians. He’s [portrayed] as a modern day Sherlock Holmes. The residents go out of their scope of practice regularly, visiting patient homes to discover the true cause of the illness…which never happens.”

But the next time you find yourself or a loved one in the emergency room know that, just as in the shows, you will get the full attention you deserve from doctors, nurses, and staff. The doctor is probably not in a relationship with the nurse, nor is there pent-up sexual desires, but most likely he or she is happily married to someone outside of the hospital. The doctor will not take a nap after treating you nor will he yell “I’m in!” after inserting a breathing tube. And remember, not everyone will need a breathing tube. The doctor may banter lightly with nurses, just out of earshot, but he will always be professional with patients. Doctors don’t have the time to create a lot of drama, let alone watch medical dramas on TV.

The thing those medical shows got right, however, was that all doctors and nurses are exceedingly good-looking. But hey, that’s at least one thing that’s accurate!

Article appeared in our 27-5 Issue - December 2010