What TV show is working in a hospital most like?

Piste

Well, in your experience which TV most resembles actual hospital work? I know a lot of people get false notions about what Hospital work is really like from various TV shows, but which is the least fanciful?



I'm hoping it's Scrubs.

Carsinian Thau

Piste wrote: »

I'm hoping it's Scrubs.

I've heard that the opening episode of scrubs is fairly accurate with regards to what it's like to be a new intern.

Piste

I've a friend doing Children and General nursing who'll be in Crumlin after a few weeks. RCSI does paeds in Crumlin so when I turn up it's be just like she's Carla and I'm JD.

Carsinian Thau

Piste wrote: »

I've a friend doing Children and General nursing who'll be in Crumlin after a few weeks. RCSI does paeds in Crumlin so when I turn up it's be just like she's Carla and I'm JD.

She has to call you Bambi.

It'd be a crime if she didn't.

drkpower

Piste wrote: »

Well, in your experience which TV most resembles actual hospital work? I know a lot of people get false notions about what Hospital work is really like from various TV shows, but which is the least fanciful?
I'm hoping it's Scrubs.

None of the above.
Cardiac Arrest (UK programme - early to mid 90s) is the best approximation; get it on DVD if you are starting off in medicine.

MrPain

I always expected it to be more like this at 0:59

Carsinian Thau

drkpower wrote: »

Cardiac Arrest (UK programme - early to mid 90s) is the best approximation; get it on DVD if you are starting off in medicine.

The wiki says that it is regarded as one of the most accurate.

It also sounds very very depressing though.

Sitric

DRKpower is right, Cardiac Arrest is the most realistic.

Piste

Carsinian Thau wrote: »

She has to call you Bambi.

It'd be a crime if she didn't.

Yeah she's already said she would

Carsinian Thau

Piste wrote: »

Yeah she's already said she would

Yay!


Can the rest of us join in? :)

Piste

Go for it! I'll have all of the cluelessness of JD but none of the wit.

drkpower

Carsinian Thau wrote: »

The wiki says that it is regarded as one of the most accurate.

It also sounds very very depressing though.

Not depressing, necessarily.

But if life as an intern/SHO were a comedy, it would be a dark, ascerbic witty black comedy rather than a feelgood romcom with attractive stars and a happy ending.....

GradMed

I'm hoping it's like this

sam34

read "the house of god" by samuel shem once you've been working a few months.

i read it as a student and it went over my head.

but i re-read it as an intern and it was amazing how accurate it was.

great book, would highly recommend it to all docs

DrIndy

absoutely read the House of God - its so funny, it totally cracked me up!

Scrubs is most like real life...... but with less cheese and more graft.

mardybumbum

Junior Doctors?




Edit: Its Grey's anatomy, not Gray's. Gray's anatomy is much more interesting.

kelle

I stopped watching them a long time ago because radiographers don't seem to exist in any of these places, yet they play a very important part in the running of a hospital. Somehow x-rays appear out of nowhere!

rgnmb

"Getting on" three part series on BBC3?

Very funny, and true to life....along the lines of cardiac arrest...but more ward orientated..

Chunky Monkey

sam34 wrote: »

read "the house of god" by samuel shem once you've been working a few months.

i read it as a student and it went over my head.

but i re-read it as an intern and it was amazing how accurate it was.

great book, would highly recommend it to all docs

I keep trying to read that but can't get into it. Keep hearing it's good.

I love Atul Gawande's Better and his book Complications, though it's based in America (with a few observations of India etc).

kelle wrote: »

I stopped watching them a long time ago because radiographers don't seem to exist in any of these places, yet they play a very important part in the running of a hospital. Somehow x-rays appear out of nowhere!

Nor care assistants, unless we're thieves with psychological issues!

D.R cowboy

why is Holby city not in the poll?, it the best one of them all getting good know too with the interns?

imported_guy

i voted scrubs, and im guessing im not far off

Mr. Presentable

It's not on the poll, but I'd say Call My Bluff!

rgnmb

Holby city is probably the worst representation of hospital life I have ever seen.

So I wouldn't make any career choices based on watching that alone!

Piste

mardybumbum wrote: »

Junior Doctors?

Oh god, that makes life as an intern seem really, really unappealing.

Yeah I only really put in the TV shows I'd heard of! Mods edit away if you like.

Carsinian Thau

mardybumbum wrote: »

Junior Doctors?

Is it bad that I didn't realise until the end that this was a weather report for some time ago?

And Bambi (teehee), depressing: yes. But accurate too. :eek:

PhysiologyRocks

I once had an in-depth discussion about nursery rhymes with a lovely surgeon. It was quite Scrubs-like.

Still, don't think I should vote as I haven't technically worked in hospitals. Just some doctors let me hang out there, which is great.

Carsinian Thau

PhysiologyRocks wrote: »

I once had an in-depth discussion about nursery rhymes with a lovely surgeon. It was quite Scrubs-like.

That sounds absolutely brilliant tbh. I don't think I've ever even spoken with a surgeon.

PhysiologyRocks wrote: »

Still, don't think I should vote as I haven't technically worked in hospitals. Just some doctors let me hang out there, which is great.

Is this as med student or do you know them? I haven't managed to get much time on the wards yet really.

PhysiologyRocks

Carsinian Thau wrote: »

Is this as med student or do you know them? I haven't managed to get much time on the wards yet really.

One guy gave us a lecture and he said we could visit. I went up, and some others let me into theatre, too. Only in 2nd year and already been sent to see patients! I've been lucky. Ask when they come to lecture you, they've been really nice to me.

Disclaimer: If this is generally unacceptable behaviour, let me know.

tallaght01

I would say a lot of the stuff that happens in scrubs is written by someone who has been a junior doctor.

PhysiologyRocks

Lots of season one Scrubs is in The House of God.

Carsinian Thau

mardybumbum wrote: »

Junior Doctors?

Just reached the part about the ABG. I've actually seen an intern try to do one once.

She tried about 4 times and couldn't get it. The patient was literally crying on the first go.

It must be really really painful.

tallaght01

Piste wrote: »

Yeah I only really put in the TV shows I'd heard of! Mods edit away if you like.

I've added in Holby City and Cardiac Arrest for you.

tallaght01

Carsinian Thau wrote: »

Just reached the part about the ABG. I've actually seen an intern try to do one once.

She tried about 4 times and couldn't get it. The patient was literally crying on the first go.

It must be really really painful.

I tried about 5 ABGs before I ever got one successfully. I attempted to cannulate 10 babies before I ever did one successfully.

But everything becomes second nature eventually

PhysiologyRocks

Anybody seen Bodies? Also Jed Mercurio. I really shouldn't know this much about medical dramas...

Carsinian Thau

PhysiologyRocks wrote: »

One guy gave us a lecture and he said we could visit. I went up, and some others let me into theatre, too. Only in 2nd year and already been sent to see patients! I've been lucky. Ask when they come to lecture you, they've been really nice to me.

Disclaimer: If this is generally unacceptable behaviour, let me know.

I'm going into second year now actually (discounting premed).

I could give that a shot. Not sure if it'd work for me though, there seems to be an element of protecting the valuable ward time for the older students who can really benefit from it.

Although, in the brief time I've spent on the wards I was always made to feel welcome. But we did tend to hold back a lot and were basically just following an intern around like incredibly nervous (yet very well dressed) sheep.

allsaintssue

All Saints used to be a good representative of what its like on a ward, the old series' I mean.
Unfortunately, in real life (..or at least in the hospital im in) there are not as many good looking men...:(

Tree

You forgot to list dexter's laboratory

sam34

allsaintssue wrote: »

Unfortunately, in real life (..or at least in the hospital im in) there are not as many good looking men...:(

a universal truth, im afraid

MrPain

This makes me laugh, sorry embedding is disabled for it, enjoy.
I also feel it is an accurate representation
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFkgbK7VTmY

994

kelle wrote: »

I stopped watching them a long time ago because radiographers don't seem to exist in any of these places, yet they play a very important part in the running of a hospital. Somehow x-rays appear out of nowhere!

In House, they perform all their MRI and CT scans themselves.

DrIndy

tallaght01 wrote: »

I tried about 5 ABGs before I ever got one successfully. I attempted to cannulate 10 babies before I ever did one successfully.

But everything becomes second nature eventually

I am the go-to guy for difficult cannulations now - I can cannulate anyone at this stage and I find when really buggered and not wanting the time of a central line, going really high up the shin and finding one of the plexus veins halfway up to the knee often works a treat.

Chunky Monkey

PhysiologyRocks wrote: »

Anybody seen Bodies? Also Jed Mercurio. I really shouldn't know this much about medical dramas...

Read the book...half porn, half biography Pretty good though. Is the series any good?

Who voted for House?? Love it but it's hardly realistic!

A Neurotic

Stall the ball.

Working in a hospital is not like Grey's Anatomy? I won't spend more time developing my relationships with other staff than treating patients? I won't be dubbed "McLiamy" by swooning female colleagues?

Can anyone confirm this? It seems I have been sadly misinformed regarding my career choice

allsaintssue

Actually myself and two friends do put 'Mc' titles on people but they are not so much McDreamy as McVomitingBug...actually quite a nice story how that one came about...and McOpenShirt due to this gentlemans habit of wearing half open shirts all the time

tallaght01

How in the name of god is ER coming 2nd in the poll????

Carsinian Thau

tallaght01 wrote: »

How in the name of god is ER coming 2nd in the poll????

Technical glitch?

sam34

tallaght01 wrote: »

How in the name of god is ER coming 2nd in the poll????

wishful thinking by all the ladies voting that we might catch our very own george clooney some day!

Carsinian Thau

sam34 wrote: »

wishful thinking by all the ladies voting that we might catch our very own george clooney some day!

Or all the guys thinking that they are George Clooney?

PhysiologyRocks

Maybe the people who voted for it have never been in a hospital and are basing their opinion on... guess what... ER.

JSK 252

Scrubs is a load of ****e!

tech77

tallaght01 wrote: »

I would say a lot of the stuff that happens in scrubs is written by someone who has been a junior doctor.

A lot of Scrubs definitely resonates.

The House of God (as mentioned) is arguably a better depiction than any of those programs though.
Love the author's odd, cynical espousal of the "do nothing and they get better" concept.
And the hard-working, reliable, seen-it-all reg as the oasis of sanity/lucidity among the chaos.

Makes more sense than a lot of the stuff you see tbh.
Your man ultimately became a psychiatrist, didn't he?