Docs sound off: What medical TV shows get so, so wrong
Industry Buzz
Medical inaccuracies in media can lead to patient confusion and mistrust of physicians. Television doesn’t show the complexities of the profession in our changing world. I hope patients remember that we are on the same team, working to keep them as healthy as possible for as long as possible.
—Brintha Vasagar, MD
Have you ever watched a TV medical drama that left you shaking your head in disbelief? You’re not alone.
Ahead: When medical dramas get it right, when they get it wrong—and what your peers really think about how physicians are portrayed on TV.
What your peers think
“Like many clinicians, I have mixed feelings about medical dramas. Many of them compress an entire career’s worth of rare, catastrophic, or bizarre cases into a single season,” says Carter Neugarten, MD, a clinical associate professor of medicine at Stanford University and an expert in palliative care and emergency medicine.
Add a dose of inaccuracy to their focus on rare and bizarre cases, and some medical dramas can really miss the mark. Experts say this can have real-life consequences.
“Medical inaccuracies in media can lead to patient confusion and mistrust of physicians,” Brintha Vasagar, MD, a family medicine physician, tells MDLinx. “Television doesn’t show the complexities of the profession in our changing world. I hope patients remember that we are on the same team, working to keep them as healthy as possible for as long as possible.”
When medical dramas got it wrong
CPR
“One of the things that [medical dramas] get wrong and cause trouble is how well CPR works and who gets it. There have been several studies that looked at the rate of survival of CPR on TV shows vs in reality, and the differences were enormous—something like rates of 70% to 100% survival vs 8% to 15%,” says Stephanie Harman, MD, a clinical professor of medicine and palliative care physician at Stanford University.
“That is absurd. And you basically never see what happens in reality after CPR—the neurologic deficits, ie, brain damage. On TV, everybody is up and talking afterward. It’s maddening because people are asked about CPR when they come to the hospital and can easily have a misleading view of CPR and how well it works,” Dr. Harman adds.
Rare events appearing commonplace
Many have praised the TV medical drama The Pitt for its accuracy, but experts also note that the show’s storylines make it seem as though the most bizarre or rare medical emergencies happen every shift.
“The Pitt definitely does that. You see many of the most extreme medical scenarios someone might encounter over a lifetime in the ED packed into one night,” Dr. Neugarten says.
Breaking into patients’ homes
Social media sites like Reddit are filled with criticism from sharp-eyed viewers who note how unrealistic medical dramas can be. The show House features prominently.
“Watch as Dr. House and his team (of various residency programs) break into their patients’ homes, then come back to [the] hospital to do the lab work themselves, then do the MRI read, and then do cardiac surgery! Is there anything this team of doctors can’t do?!” one user notes. []
Doctors do everything
TV medical dramas have also attracted criticism for failing to accurately portray the many team members who help ERs run smoothly.
“I'm an X-ray tech, and it's always frustrating to see doctors running the MRI, CT machines. They almost never show anyone using a portable X-ray machine either,” one social media user notes. []
Related: Medical TV shows that made doctors cringeWhen medical dramas got it right
To their credit, experts say, there are times when TV medical dramas get it right.
Patient care
The Pitt is a good example.
“A lot of the medical details [in The Pitt] actually rang true, which I appreciated. Dr. Robby’s approach to end-of-life conversations was especially well-done, including how emotionally defeated he looked when he ultimately intubated a patient to honor the family’s wishes despite knowing it would not change the outcome,” Dr. Neugarten says.
“The show also captured very real systemic issues, like inpatient staffing shortages and how those constraints directly impact patient care,” he adds.
The human side of medicine
Scrubs is another example of good on-screen portrayals of medicine.
“Another medical series that’s often cited for its realism is Scrubs—and for good reason. While it wasn’t realistic in a procedural sense, it did an exceptional job portraying the human side of medicine—the emotional toll, the moral distress, and the complex, and sometimes hilarious, relationships between people working in a hospital,” Dr. Neugarten says.
Hospital dynamics
“The dynamics between J.D. and Dr. Cox [and between] J.D. and the janitor captured truths about hierarchy, mentorship, coping, and humor in medicine,” Dr. Neugarten adds.
Related: 10 binge-worthy medical dramas available to stream