Boston Med TV show - wtf were they thinking?

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
willow18

willow18

Full Member
15+ Year Member
Joined
Jun 20, 2005
Messages
591
Reaction score
3
Seems like the hospitals decided it would be a great idea to have TV crews tag along and record "real patient care".
http://www.hulu.com/watch/159930/boston-med-thu-jun-24-2010

1st scene: An ED resident is "running a trauma"; tries to intubate (does not seem very confident), 'visualizes' the cords three times before declaring the tube is in. CUT

Next we see the anesthesiologist re-intubating.

ED resident: this was my rescus I shoulda gotten another chance
Gas attending: "It's my job is to care for the patient and the patient's airway; it's not my job to teach the resident".

(ummm, this is at one of the so-called 'premier teaching hospitals in the country')

ED resident: bla bla bla I was supposed to be in charge, the tube was taken away from me, bla bla.
ER doc: I woulda given the resident another chance, bla bla

Minute 23: same resident, another code; another disaster with intubation (trying to intubate an obese patient with someone thumping away on the chest); another squabble with a gas attending, bla bla

Is this what medicine has come to?
Members don't see this ad.
 
Last edited:
i think once they add the laugh track and get the stryker product placement on-board they'll be good to go.

oh, and they'll need "a very special" christmas episode with, say.. kathy bates. or tyne daly.
 
what was that resident doing arguing with the gas attending? she ended up shutting her pie hole eventually after she had him more pissed. i think as few words as possible would have been good considering she is the one that screwed up.
 
Members don't see this ad :)
It seems to be a giant HIPAA violation to have the camera crew present in the patient room during these resuscitations. How did they get around this?
 
Flopotomist said:
It seems to be a giant HIPAA violation to have the camera crew present in the patient room during these resuscitations. How did they get around this?
Click to expand...

Same as trauma: life in the ER, hopkins, various OB birth shows, cops, etc.. Those producers are masters at getting people to sign the dotted line..
 
Flopotomist said:
It seems to be a giant HIPAA violation to have the camera crew present in the patient room during these resuscitations. How did they get around this?
Click to expand...

(Note, I haven't seen the show in question) But if they don't show anything that can identify the patient (face, unique mechanism of injury etc) it isn't a HIPAA violation. To know that the patient was say in a roll over some time in the last two years and they are getting CPR doesn't give you enough to ID them. If they are showing faces, names etc. they need releases.
 
They obviously have releases from all the relevant patients and families. I don't think this is very ethical even if the families agreed. Really? You wanna discuss life-threatening procedures about your loved one with a bevy of TV people in the room? People have enough trouble following our medical explanations without these distractions.

What I truly don't get is why any PD would agree to have his/her residents on this knowing that:

1) Having cameras in the room can change a person's approach and thinking, never mind the added pressure to perform to the camera.

2) Airing the dirty laundry does not seem the best way to solve inter-services squabbles (and EM/Gas seem to have it going pretty strong at this institution).
 
Last edited:
I too saw the episode. I had a new appreciation for my program at the end of the show.
 
willow18 said:
They obviously have releases from all the relevant patients and families. I don't think this is very ethical even if the families agreed. Really? You wanna discuss life-threatening procedures about your loved one with a bevy of TV people in the room? People have enough trouble following our medical explanations without these distractions.

What I truly don't get is why any PD would agree to have his/her residents on this knowing that:

1) Having cameras in the room can change a person's approach and thinking, never mind the added pressure to perform to the camera.

2) Airing the dirty laundry does not seem the best way to solve inter-services squabbles (and EM/Gas seems to having it going pretty strong at this institution).
Click to expand...

I agree on a few points. Why in the world would a PD or residents themselves want to be a part of this. You never know how it will be edited and how you'll be perceived by those viewing the final product. There's also the aspect of added pressure when there's a camera in your face which doesn't make anything easier.

Second, why would you complain to the camera people about wanting to get another shot at the airway. The TV people were probably salivating over this when they see a inter-department squabble going on. Just keep it inside and talk with your resident or attending afterwards if you feel that you should've gotten another shot at the airway.

The premise of these shows is to show "real medicine", yet often they just end up pointing out common stereotypes and paint people in a not-so appealing light in the end. Trauma Life in the ER is a bit different as usually the person that they'd follow was an attending and so they're more comfortable with their duties and performance and can "perform" fine for the camera. Interns and junior residents shouldn't be placed in this position, nor would most of them want to be.

One thing I don't understand is why in a huge hospital like Mass General that an EM resident goes to a code in dialysis. Then when she has trouble with a difficult airway, the Anesthesia attending is criticizing her... where are the anesthesia residents during the code? Still, I can't imagine that both the resident involved and anesthesia attending want the conversation that they had about the coding patient being aired on national tv. If I was the family of the patient I wouldn't want to see this and would be upset by it as it could be percieved that subpar care was given by the layperson watching the show.
 
Last edited:
agreed, this show was all kinds of fail
 
I read an article reviewing the show and was appalled to learn the EM resident is finishing her 4th year of residency. I can't believe she failed to intubate that many times as a senior. I thought she was an intern the whole time during the episode. It made me really appreciate my program and the training I'm receiving here.
 
I have to disagree with the HIPAA issue being made a non-issue with the signing of a waiver. By the time the waiver is offered and signed, a violation has ALREADY occurred. The camera crew, producers, sound guys etc have already been present without a medical reason in the room during a patient's exam without the patients consent which IMHO violated the patient's privacy rights.

I would be very upset if a camera crew was present during the resuscitation of my family. Not only would I not sign a consent releasing the footage, but I would be furious at the hospital that allowed them into the room. I want the staff caring for my family focusing on their jobs, and not focusing on fixing their hair, or getting a moment on film.

Just look at the second code that was filmed on the above episode, you can see that an additional 50 people or so ran up to the code, and instead of being a "bitch" on camera (which needed to happen) and taking control of the scene, the resident was too busy trying to look cool.
 
hurricanemd said:
I read an article reviewing the show and was appalled to learn the EM resident is finishing her 4th year of residency. I can't believe she failed to intubate that many times as a senior. I thought she was an intern the whole time during the episode. It made me really appreciate my program and the training I'm receiving here.
Click to expand...

She may be finishing her fourth year now, but during the filming of the show, she was in her second year. It has been a little over two years since the show was taped. I'm not sure why it took so long for the show to air, but "Hopkins" was the same way. Regardless, i'm not sure that makes the situation any better. Even the attending that critisized her had a lot of trouble.

On another note, does anyone remember the surgery intern who screwed up the routine procedure, collapsing the patients lung in "Hopkins"? I read a few months ago that he ended up being fired from his residency. Im not sure of the reasons, but it sounded like a nasty situation.
 
Members don't see this ad :)
KYIAmed said:
She may be finishing her fourth year now, but during the filming of the show, she was in her second year. It has been a little over two years since the show was taped. I'm not sure why it took so long for the show to air, but "Hopkins" was the same way. Regardless, i'm not sure that makes the situation any better. Even the attending that critisized her had a lot of trouble.

On another note, does anyone remember the surgery intern who screwed up the routine procedure, collapsing the patients lung in "Hopkins"? I read a few months ago that he ended up being fired from his residency. Im not sure of the reasons, but it sounded like a nasty situation.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I remember that. There was a follow up article to that?

I wonder if any ambulance chasers watch the show and then try to contact the patient in hopes of getting a case.
 
KYIAmed said:
She may be finishing her fourth year now, but during the filming of the show, she was in her second year. It has been a little over two years since the show was taped. I'm not sure why it took so long for the show to air, but "Hopkins" was the same way. Regardless, i'm not sure that makes the situation any better. Even the attending that critisized her had a lot of trouble.

On another note, does anyone remember the surgery intern who screwed up the routine procedure, collapsing the patients lung in "Hopkins"? I read a few months ago that he ended up being fired from his residency. Im not sure of the reasons, but it sounded like a nasty situation.
Click to expand...

You mean this guy? http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=660565
 
I'm not sure why she asked for an LMA during the second code. They then show her attempting an ET.

I also don't know why any residency would allow a show like this or why a resident would agree to be followed.
 
It almost looks like the EM resident that was featured in the 1st episode is doing the show as almost a pseudo-therapy session and a way to improve her low confidence and self-esteem. I liked the site of the 2nd code when there were about 50 people in the room and most just standing and occasionally looking at the camera. There needs to be no more than 5-10 people at a code and even that is often too much... everyone that's not doing a particular job needs to leave.

Yeah, I'm not sure why she asked for an LMA during that code and then tried to do an ET a few seconds later.
 
The EM program in question is my program; all three hospitals are our program's core hospitals. The resident is now an attending (not at my program)--she was a senior when it was filmed. News on the grapevine is that in future episodes, she is "redeemed". I think it was at the Brigham that the ED code team responds to codes in certain parts of the hospital, which apparently at that time included dialysis. We do get trained to this and to do airway management, and usually it doesn't end up quite like that!!

I don't know the politics of what went on in filming the show (I wasn't around then), but obviously the producers did get family/pt permission. A lot of residents and attendings and nurses did not sign the permission, which, frankly, is probably the smart thing to do. You never know how the show is being edited. You could run 30 codes and have they all be successful but one, and you know it will be that one that they choose to show. Apparently human misery, in all its guises, makes for good television.
 
I really liked the part where a husband comes in with a stab wound after his wife attempts to murder him, and then the airheaded resident laughs then says she's not laughing and then proceeds to say, "Don't mess with your wife. *laugh laugh laugh*" Friggin dork.

Oh yeah, she finished her residency and is now located here in CA.

http://www.permanente.net/homepage/kaiser/pages/c17006-top.html
 
Hey gang

Take it easy on her! She is one of us and lets be real- this is TV, and out of hours and hours of video they chose these few minutes. The producers have an angle for each character and do what they can to go with it. I know people connected to her and that dialysis code is apparently portrayed very differently than what actually happened. On her Good Morning America interview she says they show one of her worst days as a resident......we've all been there.

I think her feelings and comments are very honest, and that most of us have had the same emotions and experiences during our training....though we might not openly broadcast them on national tv. I remember missing an airway as a senior and doubting myself- it sucked!

You do open yourself up to criticism and praise by going on this show(like the previous poster said most declined to be on the show) and very openly speaking your thoughts, but hearing comments such as airhead and incompetent as a senior are just not true- and hurtful especially coming from her own colleagues.

Sorry to be like a mom, but it pinches a little to hear a friend getting beaten up unfairly. In case anyone is interested she doing really well as an attending. Looking forward to seeing tonight's action....
 
I didn't really like what I saw of the show, but I don't like medical shows.

Physicians, and it seems like residents in particular, waste so much time badmouthing the skills of other physicians - I've always thought it was a strangely incongruent trait for a group who are successful and should be confident.

The EPs who have never struggled with an airway are inexperienced or lying - you could be next!
 
Last edited:
energy_girl said:
The EM program in question is my program; all three hospitals are our program's core hospitals. The resident is now an attending (not at my program)--she was a senior when it was filmed. News on the grapevine is that in future episodes, she is "redeemed". I think it was at the Brigham that the ED code team responds to codes in certain parts of the hospital, which apparently at that time included dialysis. We do get trained to this and to do airway management, and usually it doesn't end up quite like that!!

I don't know the politics of what went on in filming the show (I wasn't around then), but obviously the producers did get family/pt permission. A lot of residents and attendings and nurses did not sign the permission, which, frankly, is probably the smart thing to do. You never know how the show is being edited. You could run 30 codes and have they all be successful but one, and you know it will be that one that they choose to show. Apparently human misery, in all its guises, makes for good television.
Click to expand...

I can maybe accept residents being naive enough and signing such a release, but I don't understand how a PD/chair allowed this to happen. Of course the producers will edit for the "dramatic" stuff. Doh!
 
I'm not going to write two pages about this show but I really didn't think it was all that bad.
 
at least it's not like "grey's" where docs are making out all the time. those shows make us look bad.
 
kungfufishing said:
The EPs who have never struggled with an airway are inexperienced or lying - you could be next!
Click to expand...

Yes, I remember thinking how awesome I was after a run of a couple dozen easy intubations. Then comes the intubation where you look and see... absolutely nothing. You have a dozen central lines that go quite well, and then...you drop a lung, or can't get a flash, or canulate an artery, etc. A healthy dose of fear and humility is always in order to keep it real.
 
Jarabacoa said:
Yes, I remember thinking how awesome I was after a run of a couple dozen easy intubations. Then comes the intubation where you look and see... absolutely nothing. You have a dozen central lines that go quite well, and then...you drop a lung, or can't get a flash, or canulate an artery, etc. A healthy dose of fear and humility is always in order to keep it real.
Click to expand...


True words of wisdom. Well said.
 
KYIAmed said:
She may be finishing her fourth year now, but during the filming of the show, she was in her second year. It has been a little over two years since the show was taped. I'm not sure why it took so long for the show to air, but "Hopkins" was the same way. Regardless, i'm not sure that makes the situation any better. Even the attending that critisized her had a lot of trouble.QUOTE]

On the residency website it lists her as alumni graduating in 2009....so I think she was a 4th year when this was filmed! Interesting. While this may not be an accurate representation of her skills, I can't see how this would help anyone considering training there! Not only did she not do a good job, they faculty seemed to be very rude and openly state that it isn't their job to teach the residents!
Click to expand...
 
She is an attending at Kaiser and correct me if I'm wrong but all intubations are done by gas at Kaiser hospitals. Kinda fitting.
 
The anesthesia attending who said it "wasnt her job to teach residents" needs to have her fat ass fired.

You dont like teaching, you dont belong at an academic medical center. Tell that bitch to go join a private group.
 
EM OR BUST said:
She is an attending at Kaiser and correct me if I'm wrong but all intubations are done by gas at Kaiser hospitals. Kinda fitting.
Click to expand...

Not as far as I know. I rotated at 2 Kaisers as a resident and we (the EM attendings and the residents) did all the tubes in the ED.
 
In regard to the fourth-year EM resident who had a tough time intubating twice, in her defense, it's easy to judge when you're relaxed at home looking at the clips. With that said, I still think she looked very inexperienced (cameras or no cameras: you're an EM doc and u need to be primed to respond satisfactory in extremes). Now, if she was a second-year, then it would make sense, but as a fourth year at a "premier teaching institution", these first two episodes devalued at the least, their EM program.
 
We can never know how much they edited. For all we know, these could have been her only two misses in four years....who knows. I know I wouldn't want to have even more people than normal show up for a code because there is a TV crew present. It says online they followed specific people filming them for four months. A lot can happen in four months of shifts and I'm sure they chose the footage they did to highlight the "lack of confidence" story they created. In any case, I believe the program in question actually has a good reputation for airway management training. Ron Walls is the dept chair at that hospital and is one of the reasons EM physicians are permitted to manage airways independent of anesthesia.
 
Flopotomist said:
I have to disagree with the HIPAA issue being made a non-issue with the signing of a waiver. By the time the waiver is offered and signed, a violation has ALREADY occurred. The camera crew, producers, sound guys etc have already been present without a medical reason in the room during a patient's exam without the patients consent which IMHO violated the patient's privacy rights.

I would be very upset if a camera crew was present during the resuscitation of my family. Not only would I not sign a consent releasing the footage, but I would be furious at the hospital that allowed them into the room. I want the staff caring for my family focusing on their jobs, and not focusing on fixing their hair, or getting a moment on film.

Just look at the second code that was filmed on the above episode, you can see that an additional 50 people or so ran up to the code, and instead of being a "bitch" on camera (which needed to happen) and taking control of the scene, the resident was too busy trying to look cool.
Click to expand...

While I agree with your post - it's for a different reason.

I don't care whether or not it is/isn't HIPAA compliant - I care that people don't realize it's bad taste to show something like that on TV.

How bout this for a reason not to put it on TV: IT'S BAD TASTE AND JUST BECAUSE THE AVERAGE VOYERISTIC AMERICAN PUBLICAN WANTS TO SEE CRAP LIKE THAT ON TV DOESN'T MEAN WE HAVE TO SHOW IT.

Some things just shouldn't be put on TV. The fact that it violates HIPAA (I agree with you that it does) should be irrelevant.

If it wasn't for this shytty society we live in, we wouldn't even need something so flawed as HIPAA. Except some ***** will still pick up the phone and call the press when someone famous comes in for an overdose.
 
boo2 said:
Hey gang

Take it easy on her! She is one of us and lets be real- this is TV, and out of hours and hours of video they chose these few minutes. The producers have an angle for each character and do what they can to go with it. I know people connected to her and that dialysis code is apparently portrayed very differently than what actually happened. On her Good Morning America interview she says they show one of her worst days as a resident......we've all been there.

I think her feelings and comments are very honest, and that most of us have had the same emotions and experiences during our training....though we might not openly broadcast them on national tv. I remember missing an airway as a senior and doubting myself- it sucked!

You do open yourself up to criticism and praise by going on this show(like the previous poster said most declined to be on the show) and very openly speaking your thoughts, but hearing comments such as airhead and incompetent as a senior are just not true- and hurtful especially coming from her own colleagues.

Sorry to be like a mom, but it pinches a little to hear a friend getting beaten up unfairly. In case anyone is interested she doing really well as an attending. Looking forward to seeing tonight's action....
Click to expand...

She signed the waiver, she gets everything she deserves here.

You think she didn't have visions of 'Good Morning America' interviews in her head when she signed that thing?

The only difference between her and Pamela Anderson (Anderson got discovered when a camera picked her out at a football game and Pammy agreed to sign the waiver) is Pam has bigger...

marketing sense.
 
Painter1 said:
In regard to the fourth-year EM resident who had a tough time intubating twice, in her defense, it's easy to judge when you're relaxed at home looking at the clips. With that said, I still think she looked very inexperienced (cameras or no cameras: you're an EM doc and u need to be primed to respond satisfactory in extremes). Now, if she was a second-year, then it would make sense, but as a fourth year at a "premier teaching institution", these first two episodes devalued at the least, their EM program.
Click to expand...

I will agree that she looked inexperienced and lacking confidence when she was running the code and trying to intube in the 1st episode. I actually thought that she was an intern or a junior resident when I watched that episode. Still, it's very easy to judge when you're not there and you have some edited version of what actually happend. The producers's job is to portait each person as a particular character and unfortunately Dr. Patel's character is the "resident who lacks confidence and backbone and is trying to figure out how to get through the day". This might not be who she actually is or what her actions make her out to be, but it's the characters that they will be trying to push. So, they probably waited until the moment when she's at her lowest and the moment when nothing goes right and chose to show that (i.e. the 1st code) to be the kind of doctor she is. We've all had codes and situation like that when nothing goes right and everything goes wrong, she just went through it while a national audience watched, but she signed the dotted line and so should've expected criticism.
 
All right, all right - Ill say it. I think she's hot.
 
n2b8me said:
agree.
about kaiser... think about it. have you ever been in a community ER at night when there's an anesthesiologist waiting around for an intubation? what about hospital codes at night... yeh sure.
Click to expand...

I think it must be hospital dependent. My friend just signed with kaiser and he was told at his hospital gas does all the tubes. Gas is in house 24/7.
 
It was a bit easier to stick up for her given that she is hot.
 
I was excited when I heard this program was coming on. But there are too many back stories. I don't care about their families, nor the pts families. Show me the ED/OR etc, and that is it. Plus that music!? Makes me want to pop my eardrum with a firecracker.
 
I understand all of the cheesy back story stuff to a certain extent, but the Dawson's Creek soundtrack needs to end. It was really cool seeing the lung inflate after the successful transplant. Thumbs up for the nurse with the trashy Southie accent!
 
She's on a segment for 'Nightline' called "Bearing Bad News" that ran last night, unrelated to the show everyone's talking about.

I wonder if they have a lot of clips that will be used for different segments.

http://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/
 
sese said:
She's on a segment for 'Nightline' called "Bearing Bad News" that ran last night, unrelated to the show everyone's talking about.

I wonder if they have a lot of clips that will be used for different segments.

http://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/
Click to expand...

So here's the MGH protocol for STEMI:

1) Have the pt sign the 5-page TV show waiver
2) Make sure your hair looks ok
3) Think twice about everything you're gonna do or say because there are cameras around
 
That nurse and her constant gum chewing irritate the crap out of me. A) Gross and B) Unprofessional.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

T
Acadia wtf
Replies
0
Views
1K
TooMuchResearch
T
The Knife & Gun Club
“Please call me when they go upstairs”
Replies
6
Views
2K
the messenger
T
P
ER Provider call the Ken Colman Show
Replies
14
Views
2K
GonnaBeADoc2222
G
G
Emergency Medicine Shows Rebound in 2024 Residency Match - ACEP Now
Replies
26
Views
6K
FlaminHotER
FlaminHotER
Angry Birds
Teaching only positions at med school?
Replies
15
Views
2K
Angry Birds
Angry Birds
Top