Grey's Anatomy is the longest-running American medical drama television series. Initially premiering on March 27, 2005, it currently has 369 episodes spanning 273 hours and 33 minutes. The series delves into the lives of surgical interns, residents, and attendings as they flourish into seasoned and professional doctors while trying to balance their personal and professional life. Fixated primarily on Meredith Grey's journey from a green intern to an award-winning surgeon, this series delves into both the medical world and the complicated webs of romance ever so present in the Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital. The series is written to be as realistic as possible. Producers consult with actual physicians, medical doctors, and students to accurately use terms and create intriguing cases. However, some factors such as drama and romance impair the realism of the show.
Although Grey's Anatomy is a fantastic television series, research has diagnosed a problem with medical dramas, especially Grey's. A study published in the journal of Trauma Surgery & Acute Care states that medical dramas "may cultivate false expectations among patients and their families" regarding the realities of medical treatment, recovery, and care. Though this is not surprising as Grey's Anatomy has a history of over-dramatized medical cases. Through its 18 seasons, we have seen patients swallow a bomb, become skewered by icicles, struck by lightning, and so much more. Author Dr. Jordan Weinberg, trauma medical director at St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center, affirms that it is essential for both patients and doctors to be aware of the subconscious effect of medical shows. Thus, let us investigate the accuracy of the hit medical drama Grey's Anatomy.
For the most part, according to Dr. Kailey Reimen, a resident in Akron, the majority of the cases in Grey's are medically accurate. However, it is only since the show does not go into much detail about medicine itself. Instead, it uses elements such as shock and romance to entertain its viewers. Dr. Gail Saltz confirmed this statement and stated that most cases are realistic, though some are over-dramatized. Saltz further mentioned that "Most terms I have seen used are accurate, but the portrayal of the medical condition or outcome of the medical term is not always accurate." Generally speaking, Grey's Anatomy medically is quite accurate, though let us dive deeper and highlight instances where the show was right and wrong.
What did Grey's Anatomy get right?
Dr. Remien has confirmed that Grey's Anatomy does an excellent job depicting the transition from a medical student to an attending. As a surgical intern, there are many trials and tribulations to overcome, typically through the duration of five years. After one year of internship, surgical interns would spend their next four years as a resident, though some programs may be longer as research may be a prerequisite. Following residency, if a doctor chooses to specialize, they would enter a fellowship, which lasts anywhere between one to three years. These specialties include pediatric surgery, plastic surgery, cardiothoracic surgery, plastic surgery, and so much more. Finally, after fellowship (or residency if the doctor chooses not to specialize), you become an attending.
According to Dr. Remien, The hierarchy present in the series is accurate. She stated, "When Grey was an intern, how tired she was and never leaving the hospital was slightly dramatized—but the intern year is brutal. It is supposedly better now due to some duty hour restrictions, but it is the largest learning curve any of us go through." According to Amanda Kirzner, DO, MPH, the series depicts the job of interns somewhat accurately. Though interns rarely see the inside of the OR (operating room) in real life, Grey's Anatomy performed admirably in depicting an intern's scut work.
In real life, surgical interns tend to focus on scut work. Such work entails drawing stat labs, talking to patients' families, rounding with social workers regarding a patient's placement after discharge, putting in orders for nurses, accompanying patients to various tests, and obtaining patient consent forms prior to surgery. Though the life of an actual surgical intern is not as glamorous as it is in Grey's Anatomy, the premise of the job shows promising similarity.
What did Grey's Anatomy get wrong?
The medical series Grey's Anatomy has committed many mistakes in depicting medical accuracy. One of which includes the depiction of medical traumas. In the study mentioned above (from the Trauma Surgery & Acute Care), two trauma doctors and a nurse watch the first twelve seasons of Grey's Anatomy. They looked specifically at the 290 trauma patients that visit Seattle Grace/Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital throughout the series, recording various things such as their demographic, length of stay, admission patterns, outcomes, and injury severity. These recordings were later compared to actual patient data provided by the American National Trauma Bank.
Through the review, the researchers have indicated several inaccuracies. Compared to actual trauma patients, Grey's Anatomy patients tend to have more severe injuries and progress more quickly from the emergency room to the OR. Patients from Grey's Anatomy either have a higher mortality rate or stay in the hospital for a short while before being discharged directly. 22% of trauma patients in Grey's Anatomy die compared to 7% in real life. In reality, trauma patients tend to face a long and tedious road to recovery before being able to go home.
Aside from trauma, Grey's Anatomy does commit other minor mistakes. For instance, their use of a defibrillator. When a patient's heart stops beating in this series, a 'code blue' is run, and a defibrillator is used to shock the patient. Though, in reality, the defibrillator serves other purposes, that is, for arrhythmias (irregular heartbeat). The electric shock helps bring the heart back from this irregularity, instead of no heartbeat at all. In reality, the first thing a doctor should do when a 'code blue' is called is to perform chest compressions.
Another aspect where Grey's Anatomy is inaccurate is through its depiction of experimental medicine. For dramatic and entertaining elements, the storylines tend to focus on rare illnesses and diseases. Thus, it would make sense for the show if the treatment is primarily experimental, as, due to the rarity of its cases, treatment plans might not be fully effective. As frequently as drug/treatment trials have been seen in the show, it usually does not often happen outside Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital. "If it were the better treatment option, it wouldn't be experimental. Experimental means you don't know if it's better or not," stated Andrew Holtz, author of The Real Grey's Anatomy. Hence, in real life, it would rarely be the option doctors would opt to do.
Conclusively, as a medical drama, Grey's Anatomy is semi-accurate, though it strays from reality just as often. Despite the production team utilizing medical professionals to make the show more realistic, factors such as drama and romance tend to impede the truth of the medical world. This is especially evident on a day-to-day basis. As an intern, no matter how talented or intelligent you are, you would never get your hands on a beating heart like Christina Yang, or perform cardiothoracic surgery in an elevator like George O'Malley. As much as we love and admire these doctors from Grey's Anatomy, we cannot trust everything we learn from the show. Though the medical lingo may be accurate, the same cannot be said about the procedures and the ways things are done in the hospital. The next time you catch an episode of Grey's Anatomy, be careful before utilizing your medical drama knowledge to diagnose a friend or family member.
Sources Cited
www.thelist.com/175725/false-things-greys-anatomy-made-you-believe-about-medicine/.
www.purewow.com/entertainment/is-greys-anatomy-accurate.
thedo.osteopathic.org/2014/09/greys-anatomy-vs-real-life-residency/.
tsaco.bmj.com/content/3/1/e000137, 10.1136/tsaco-2017-000137.
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