How many of you watch medical TV shows?

[Ruhroh]

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I typically don't watch a lot of TV, but I'm in bed right now with strep throat and I just randomly decided to watch an episode of Grey's Anatomy on Hulu http://www.hulu.com/watch/451669...

....and I am hooked . Are these shows at all useful for knowing what we're getting into? Physician shadowing and ED volunteering sucked, but a half hour of Grey's Anatomy has me excited to run around an OR with my hair on fire.

 

[pineapplepancakes]

I watch The Mindy Project, and I love it!

 

[thelullaby99]

Watched grey's up until this season where they killed off many major characters. And the fact that the storyline is getting ridiculous, like nothing else to tell but let's keep the drama and sex going! It has become awful.

I watch ghost adventures. I might be the only one person who adores the show lol. And if this dream doesn't pan out, I'll be the first to pack up my bags and go hunting for the supernatural.

I also watch Supernatural the show.

 

[wholeheartedly]

I haven't really watched any of the "fiction" ones consistently. If I was surfing and saw that ER or Scrubs or something was on I'd watch it. House annoys me though, not because he's a jerk, but because in most of the shows it has doctors doing all kinds of stuff thats done by other members of the team, like the lab tests, xrays and radiology stuff, nursing stuff, etc.

I do like some of the more documentary type shows like "Trauma: life in the ER" or "Code Blue" on Discovery Health (or whatever they renamed that channel now) but even on those some of the narration is a bit too over the top dramatic for my liking. I have some of those set to record and watch them when I'm up at 4 a.m. on my goofy night shift schedule and can't find anything but infomercials. I like that they follow the residents quite a bit and profile patients after the fact.

 

[alanwatts]

Second Opinion on PBS is good.

 

[Neuronette]

Watch House.
Its no longer on tv but the series was my favorite until it ended a couple of years ago.

 

[Geebeejay]

I typically don't watch a lot of TV, but I'm in bed right now with strep throat and I just randomly decided to watch an episode of Grey's Anatomy on Hulu http://www.hulu.com/watch/451669...

....and I am hooked . Are these shows at all useful for knowing what we're getting into? Physician shadowing and ED volunteering sucked, but a half hour of Grey's Anatomy has me excited to run around an OR with my hair on fire.

Uggh at Grey's Anatomy. The only shows that might show you what you're getting into are NY Med, Boston Med, etc.

If you have strep throat and want to watch TV, choose Breaking Bad.

 

[alpharez]

I'm dying to see the new season of NY med.

 

[theherowedeserv]

most of the are bad. scrubs is good though

 

[sinombre]

Uggh at Grey's Anatomy. The only shows that might show you what you're getting into are NY Med, Boston Med, etc.

If you have strep throat and want to watch TV, choose Breaking Bad.

for Breaking Bad! I love that show.

And Grey's Anatomy is the worst. I seriously can't stand it. For the love of God, don't watch it OP. If you want to watch something medically related, watch a documentary.

 

[SpaceyWacey]

I watch both fiction and non-fiction medical shows. May favorite 'fake' medical show is Emily Owens MD which is about a resident who is pretty much reliving high school much to her dismay. CW only gave it one season but I really loved it! It's a bit of a girl based show but there is a ton of medicine in it (although can't be sure how much is accurate). I've also been addicted to anything by Terrence Wong as of late . Shows like NY Med, Boston Med, NY ER (which is part of NY Med so don't watch both unless you want to watch the ER scenes separately).

 

[SpaceyWacey]

I'm dying to see the new season of NY med.

+1

 

[Ashley1989]

Watch House.
Its no longer on tv but the series was my favorite until it ended a couple of years ago.

I watched one episode of House years ago and the doctor essentially tortured a little boy to extract something to save his brother. He held the patient down and kept doing the procedure even though the kid was screaming for him to stop and was in terrible pain. I don't even remember the parents being there to consent. After that, I never watched an episode again. People talk about greys anatomy being unrealistic, what about that! Lol talk about unethical practices and assault and battery!

 

[HughMyron]

I've heard that Scrubs is kinda accurate, but I couldn't get into the show.

Grey's Anatomy is not so much about medicine as it is about drama and sex in a hospital, but it's a guilty pleasure of mine.

 

[sinombre]

I've heard that Scrubs is kinda accurate, but I couldn't get into the show.

Grey's Anatomy is not so much about medicine as it is about drama and sex in a hospital, but it's a guilty pleasure of mine.

You seriously watch Grey's Anatomy? Isn't that like a cardinal sin of the BB forums?

 

[HughMyron]

You seriously watch Grey's Anatomy? Isn't that like a cardinal sin of the BB forums?

That's why I said guilty pleasure.

 

[sinombre]

That's why I said guilty pleasure.

Fair enough. I suppose we all have our own. I still can't stand that show though.

 

[Xenops]

House annoys me though, not because he's a jerk, but because in most of the shows it has doctors doing all kinds of stuff thats done by other members of the team, like the lab tests, xrays and radiology stuff, nursing stuff, etc.

Exactly, you don't realize how inaccurate it is until you do some shadowing and see all the varieties of technicians buzzing around.

In general, I'm leery of medical shows, because I don't know if it represents real life in a hospital. I have watched some Boston MD, but again I don't know if what they show is a good overall depiction of how doctors work.

Mostly I read medical biographies, which are biased but at least give a good impression of the training, especially in conjunction.

 

[SilentSoldier]

ER and Scrubs were my favorite shows ever. Replacing them with Grey's and the Mindy Project just isn't the same.

 

[OCDOCDOCD]

I used to watch Scrubs a long time ago. That's the only medical show I ever watched though.

 

[Geebeejay]

Exactly, you don't realize how inaccurate it is until you do some shadowing and see all the varieties of technicians buzzing around.

In general, I'm leery of medical shows, because I don't know if it represents real life in a hospital. I have watched some Boston MD, but again I don't know if what they show is a good overall depiction of how doctors work.

Mostly I read medical biographies, which are biased but at least give a good impression of the training, especially in conjunction.

Well it's a lot more dramatic when the entire physician team is conducting the MRI themselves when the patient codes, so that the bigshot, attractive TV doctor can be there to run the code all while intubating, starting several lines, pushing meds and giving CPR all at the same time. All with metal equipment that is immediately presented upon request by a bunch of eager nurses who happen to be right outside the MRI department. A lot less dramatic if the protagonist doc simply receives a page that his patient coded and the code team responded, successfully resuscitating him, and the doctor simply hops on his smart phone to place new orders and consults an hour later.

I think Boston med was a good overall depiction of what it's like to be a doctor/resident. Obviously the creators chose to air only the most dramatic and interesting/shocking footage, and obviously you won't fly on puddle jumpers to retreive hearts for transplants every day, and there were many scripted, staged and forced interactions (trust me), but overall it's pretty close to the real thing I'd say.

 

[MusicJunkie]

I watch The Mindy Project, House, Scrubs, NY Med, Private Practice, and Grey's.

While Grey's has ventured into the ridiculously implausible, it is a guilty pleasure of mine as well. Private Practice isn't AS bad, although still an offender.

 

[Medstart108]

I typically don't watch a lot of TV, but I'm in bed right now with strep throat and I just randomly decided to watch an episode of Grey's Anatomy on Hulu http://www.hulu.com/watch/451669...

....and I am hooked . Are these shows at all useful for knowing what we're getting into? Physician shadowing and ED volunteering sucked, but a half hour of Grey's Anatomy has me excited to run around an OR with my hair on fire.

I watch grey's anatomy, Hopkins (documentary), Boston Med (documentary). I think documentaries will give you a better sense of medicine than a drama, but then again i haven't rotated yet so i couldn't say for sure.

 

[VictorAlpha]

I used to watch ER like the early early seasons when I was in highschool, but not anymore....

Anyone see Monday Mornings on TNT? It just premiered last night.

I'm gonna give that a whirl.

I don't expect any medical shows to have any substantial value at all in terms of medical knowledge/learning. You might see something that you could look up later but you will never really learn anything.

 

[plumhill]

I occasionally watch Greys Anatomy, The Mindy Project, and Emily Owens, MD and I used to watch Scrubs (still sad that its gone ). I highly doubt any of these are accurate representations of what we're getting ourselves into, but they're certainly entertaining.

NY Med and Boston Med are probably a bit more realistic, although still they're docs being filmed and are probably acting a little differently than they normally would.

 

[TheWeeIceMan]

I watch pretty much every TV show out there except medical shows.

 

[deleted127837]

Hopkins and Boston Med are legit. NY Med started getting away from documentary-format and too much into reality-show territory for my tastes.

In terms of fiction: House and Scrubs, because they're amusing.

I've wondered if this rash of medical shows in the past 10~15 years has been subconsciously responsible for driving a lot of people pre-med. I wouldn't be surprised if, objectively, I was influenced by ER when I was younger.

 

[mcloaf]

I tried to watch one episode of Grey's Anatomy, but the "drama" was a little over the top for my tastes.

Scrubs always seemed boring.

I have enjoyed Hopkins, Boston Med, and NY Med, though I wish Terrence Wrong would get somebody else to choose the music for his shows.

 

[eggs13]

i'm halfway through Nip/Tuck on Netflix. its one pretty messed up show, and terribly inaccurate (references to graduating in the bottom 10% of class, yet still becoming plastic surgeon; wife dropping out of pre-med courswork, yet referring to her later in the show as a former med student, etc.). despite this, i can't stop watching

 

[SilentSoldier]

I like Grey's Anatomy. At one point, it got really cheesy/melodramatic. But I think its done a good job of cutting that down. And lol at Private Practice, that show is terrible.

I miss Scrubs

 

[FloridaMedicine]

For those who like NY Med there's a spinoff that just started called NY ER. Its basically the same cast I believe. It comes on every Saturday

http://www.tvrage.com/shows/id-34011

 

[Remxed]

To answer the OP's question, most of these shows, even the documentaries, are produced primarily for entertainment. I think it's important to keep things in perspective.

This blog post brings medical tv shows back down to earth: http://skepticalscalpel.blogspot.com/2013/01/why-i-dont-watch-medical-tv-shows.html

 

[Doctor Strange]

I typically don't watch a lot of TV, but I'm in bed right now with strep throat and I just randomly decided to watch an episode of Grey's Anatomy on Hulu http://www.hulu.com/watch/451669...

....and I am hooked . Are these shows at all useful for knowing what we're getting into? Physician shadowing and ED volunteering sucked, but a half hour of Grey's Anatomy has me excited to run around an OR with my hair on fire.

lolno

They are entertaining nevertheless. Scrubs is my fave. I even liked most of that new season that everyone hated.

 

[Ruhroh]

I've watched like 6 episodes of Grey's today. The one thing I like is how anyone who is higher on the totem pole is a complete a-hole to anybody lower in rank (attendings berating residents, residents using 'intern' like an insulting word, etc)... I wonder how true to life that is.

 

[sinombre]

I like Grey's Anatomy. At one point, it got really cheesy/melodramatic. But I think its done a good job of cutting that down. And lol at Private Practice, that show is terrible.

I miss Scrubs

Editing my original comment because it contained a spoiler. But the finale of last season was incredibly cheesy.

 

[Narmerguy]

I typically don't watch a lot of TV, but I'm in bed right now with strep throat and I just randomly decided to watch an episode of Grey's Anatomy on Hulu http://www.hulu.com/watch/451669...

....and I am hooked . Are these shows at all useful for knowing what we're getting into? Physician shadowing and ED volunteering sucked, but a half hour of Grey's Anatomy has me excited to run around an OR with my hair on fire.

I love Grey's Anatomy Pretty sure it's not realistic as far as what you can expect on a day to day basis though.

 

[iforget2]

Is your username from Scrubs? It's something J.D. said when he was trying to comfort Elliot. Your username just kind of reminded me of that scene lol

 

[Camy99]

Scrubs all the way!! In fact, someone wrote a paper on it about how it was the closest to accuracy. And it's hilarious Win/win methinks ^_^

 

[TangoDown]

I was in love with Scrubs. I've seen every episode multiple times (save for season 9...we won't go there lol).

Saw a few episodes of ER and wasn't blown away.

I've also seen NY Med, Boston Med, and Hopkins.

 

[kgpremed11]

Watched greys anatomy up until 2008, then it just got corny as hell and unwatchable. House sometimes, scrubs sometimes. GA is what a fat ugly premed girls dreams of what being a resident will be like.

 

[TangoDown]

Watched greys anatomy up until 2008, then it just got corny as hell and unwatchable. House sometimes, scrubs sometimes. GA is what a fat ugly premed girls dreams of what being a resident will be like.

Then what do the fit, pretty ones think residency will be like?

 

[kgpremed11]

Then what do the fit, pretty ones think residency will be like?

?

 

[TangoDown]

?

...how is that hard to follow?

 

[LaCroix09]

Scrubs

 

[Ibn Alnafis MD]

I'm dying to see the new season of NY med.

Will there be one?

 

[skippy]

There's a new drama on abc called Do No Harm. It's about a doctor with dissociative identity disorder. I'm calling 6 episodes before it's canned.

 

[mehc012]

...only if I enjoy the show itself. Don't expect to get anything useful out of them other than a brain break!

I hope med school doesn't destroy all medical TV for me; too many of the really good cheesy dramas are medicine-based!

I always lol at people who can't watch shows anymore because the medicine is inaccurate, and then I remember that I made it through only 2 or 3 episodes of Breaking Bad before it was too painful to continue. Then I just laugh at myself (silently. or maniacally, if anyone is watching...more fun that way!)

 

[Narmerguy]

...how is that hard to follow?

+1

 

[acslater99]

I watched Grey's Anatomy up till the end of the 5th season. Got pissed because they killed my boy Dr. George O'Mally.

 

[IniestaDeMiVida]

I've found some good (older) medical documentaries and stuff on Netflix. I watched Doctors' Diaries about 7 Harvard MD grads followed over 20 years and it was pretty good. I also watched one called "Facing Death" that helped me understand oncology/ICU interactions better.

Check it out!