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‘As seen on TV’ does not apply to the real world of medicine, nursing and health care in general. I for one fell victim to this urban legend until I entered the world of nursing and became entrenched in the ‘real’ world of health care.
We’ve all seen the TV shows. Everything from the ground breaking ER, Third Watch, House, Grey’s Anatomy, Nurse Jackie, Hawthorn, Mercy, Three Rivers, Trauma, etc. The list is endless. I’m talking about health care in general – not specifically medicine, or nursing, or ‘hospital’, ‘pre-hospital’, etc. I’m just talking about anything ‘medical’.
Yes, I’m well aware it’s all about TV ratings. Yes, I’m also aware that you need to ‘sell’ the audience on the plot of the series or episode. But, sometimes Hollywood medicine is so ‘out there’ and so far from the truth that it’s mind boggling. I think what leaves me speechless and slightly angered is the notion that John Q. Public actually thinks what they see on TV or in the theatres ‘must’ happen in the real world. When they enter the hospital, or the ambulance, the ER, the ICU, etc they will be experiencing exactly what they saw! My fellow health care professionals and I have to do ‘damage control’ quite a bit by dispelling the myths and propaganda.
I thought I’d share with John Q. Public some of the frustrating falsehoods that are misrepresented out there in Hollywood medicine. I apologize how random this may be.
- No, the doctors do not come to your bedside and draw your blood for impending surgeries. It’s the phlebotomist, or lab technician, or even a nurse.
- No, most patient’s who have brain surgery or multiple surgeries in one sitting don’t wake up talking after they ‘recover’ with no oxygen! Most can remain sedated or still have a breathing tube in place for patient safety. At the very least -they won’t be carrying on full conversations immediately after surgery (especially if it’s a 4-10 hour surgery)!
- No, the last time I checked – and in most cases there are far more nurses on a hospital unit than physicians. Not even at the larger hospitals.
4 more Hollywood gaffs, including bogus treatment of defibrillators…
I never watch those shows. Especially the birth ones For reasons you just mentioned but also I spend enough time with white coats and scrub filled rooms. I don’t need to see that on my TV.
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@ pinky I can absolutely understand!
So true, but you’re kind of preaching to the choir here!
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@ Sandy LOL. You’re absolutely right. Maybe I just needed a vent? Heh heh.
Amen! Love Hugh Laurie, but no, ONE doctor doesn’t do brain surgery, heart surgery, CT scans, blood draws, empties catheters, does angiograms and liver biopsies, etc. I always wonder why they don’t hire a medical consultant.
It should be ILLEGAL to show someone being shocked over and over, and then the young rebel dr/nurse tries it “one more time” and they come back walking and talking even though they were down 45 minutes. Right! Everyone should have to see what really happens in a code.
Another couple of points to add: Surgeons don’t usually shave or do surgical prep (once made me laugh out loud to see Dr. Derek Shepherd on Grey’s shaving a patient’s head before surgery). Also, no wonder patients on TV are in such bad shape… they don’t have the bag inflated when on a non-rebreather mask! Saw this a couple of times on a soap opera.
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@ bettymerchen exactly!
@ cind Maybe not see the real thing – but don’t lie to the public.
Or, how about when the surgeon is scrubbing at the sink, with is mask dangling around his neck? Who in the heck is going to tie that up for him? In every OR I’ve ever worked in, if you’re dumb enough to forget to tie your mask before scrubbing, YOU fix it, and then re-scrub. Duh!!!
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@ Stacy well said, not to mention how many times they break the sterile field! LOL
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@ Katrina yes, once again they are depicting physicians doing the work of others. Never saw the no-bag inflated. Nice.
I think my personal favorite was when one ER show called for “1mg ativan P.O. STAT!” after that I boycotted them all
Siderails are rarely up on tv–drives me crazy!
“No, when you see a ‘flat line’ we do not ’shock’ the patient” – Really, this one got my attention and gave me a laugh…
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@ T Now I’m going to focus on the siderails. Thanks! LOL
@ Joe Glad you liked it.
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@ Katt Yeah – that’s pretty bad. Thanks for sharing!
I always like seeing the TV docs/nurses taking their gloves off the wrong way.
Or on House when they don’t wear eye protection during certain surgeries. The people in the ORs I’ve been in wore them.
Or sometimes they put the stethescope in their ears wrong.
How bout the way they take off their gloves? Always touching the other dirty one? Or how Dr. Coop on Nurse Jackie was dressing a wound on todays episode? Ha! Yea Right!
What really blows my mind is seeing doctors doing chest compressions! Give me a break! We all know that the only break we get in compressions is that poor little old lady’s sternum. Call It!
And they don’t deliver babies in the ER in real life!!!! Unless she comes in with it actually falling out. Everywhere I have ever worked, if she’s pregnant and comes in for heartburn she comes to OB in a wheelchair!!!!!!!!!
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@ monica Good one!
@ Jeyssa I missed that one.
@ Robin True, very true.
I love seeing trached patients talk without a passy-muir valve (Million Dollar Baby, anyone?). Or the endless ways they picture someone hooked up to a ventilator, most of which would result in hypoxia.
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@ Jenni OHHHH yes. I remember that oh so well.
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@ Kathy I never thought of that! Good point.
I love when a patient is laying in a hospital bed with a nasal cannula in and in the back ground you can hear a ventilator. Really??
And I agree with the shocking of the asystole! Too much! lol
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@ Juli I’ll have to pay attention to the sounds next time. LOL
My biggest pet peeve is when they have the pacer pads/ECG on, doing CPR, it shows a flat line!!! I also saw a show where they were doing surgery on a GSW and the bleeding got out of control, the monitors were alarming and all they showed was them suctioning the bullet wound!! They never opened up the patient!!! ARRRGGGHHHHH!!!
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@ Maxx Oh yes, don’t you just love the accuracy.
I stopped watching House a long time ago, when he was sick with a BAD cold, sneezing and everything and walked into a room to talk with a neutropenic child with cancer!
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@ nancy Ahh yes, good ole’ Doctor House.
And have you ever noticed the kind of machines they have at the bedside for IV pumps? I have seen feeding pumps and morphine pumps used. I also like not having side rails even on the bed let alone not up.
I also love how the docs on House always break into the patient’s house to look for a cause to their illness. I mean, really?
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@ monica Absolutely!
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@ robin2 LOL. Never noticed that one.
I watched “House” once only, and he had a team of doctors making phone calls to locate the patient’s family. Most of our doctors do not know HOW to dial a phone!! I told one of our doctors, “If that happened at our hospital, you would tell me to do it.”.
He said, “And then you would palm it off on the Unit Secretary, and tell me that you are’t my private secretary!”
@Sharon: LOL, that REALLY made me laugh out loud. I am an old ER nurse and that is exactly how I talk to our Docs. When those young surgery residents come to the ER for consults, sometimes they need to be reminded “I don’t work for you, I work with you”!!!
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@ Sharon Yeeeep.
I laugh when the doctors take the patient to the test, and then sit and watch “their patient” in the MRI/CT scanner. Right! Like they would even know what to look for if it wasn’t for the radiology techs and radiologists interpreting for them.
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@ Jeana Yet another good point.
How about how doctors take patients to CT, MRI, surgeries, and such! Yeah right! That’s what nurses, aides, and transport are for!
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@ LaCrisha Absolutely!
Pingback: Some thoughts on Hollywood medicine « My Strong Medicine
Student
Nursing Student (you can change this when you graduate!)
I noticed in the one Grey’s Anatomy show I happened upon, while scrubbin-in, the surgeons did not don caps, wear masks, or cleaned their fingernails before scrubing. I did not watch the entire show, I’m sure there were even more fuax pas to write about. perhaps this is why the show is called Grey’s anatomy, a more healthy color derives using aseptic practices.
Student
Nursing Student (you can change this when you graduate!)
Sorry, I do know how to spell scrubbing. Please pardon my faux pas.
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And that show is more touted for the ‘soap opera-like’ drama. LOL
Student
Nursing Student (you can change this when you graduate!)
Actually, on ER, when a med student, intern, or emotional resident would say to shock the patient, a nurse or doctor almost always says “They’re in asystole” or “It’s a flatline.”
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I believe you are correct. LOL