16 June 2008

This Is Your Life?

One of my co-interns (whom I admittedly dislike) was once raving about Dr. Gregory House, how he was her idol and how she wanted to be as sarcastic with her patients as he was with his. I said nothing as my distaste for her deepened. Apparently you're never too old not to know the very wise difference between what is acceptable on television and in reality. I would have been easier on her if she only wanted to emulate his diagnostic brilliance, but it seems like she has found her idol in cruelty instead. (For your information, this is the kind of intern who turns her back on patients as they're speaking, pulls out intravenous catheters without managing the bleeding from the venipuncture site, and looks with disdain on her co-interns. A real gem.)

For one thing, many of the problems detected on House (eventually, in the last 10 minutes of the show when the patient is near death and House's colleagues have lost their minds) can be deduced with skillful history-taking. Everybody lies, though, Dr. House might say. That's what rapport is for, asswipe. I did enjoy a few of the earlier episodes, though-- Damned If You Do (Season 1, Episode 5-- the one with the nun) raises some serious, poignant issues, and I'd be lying if I said it didn't think it was heart-wrenching.

Another show, Grey's Anatomy, came about during my clerkship year, and was hot news around the water cooler. I thought it was silly. My friends recognized it was silly, but they still couldn't deny that they were really just watching their fantasy of a hospital made up of attractive people. I didn't appreciate the barely 2-dimensional stereotypes of the show (dork, whiner, ass with a heart of gold, go-getter Asian, Barbie doll, stern resident with a heart of gold, blah blah blah), not to mention the excessive whining, unrealistic amounts of inter-office sex, and people taking everything too personally. It's exhausting.

Also, everyone looks way too old to be interns.

Of all the hospital shows I've seen (and I don't watch a lot, as compared to my other TV fetishes-- I don't like mixing real-life with tv-life), ER appears to be the most realistic and relatable. Unfortunately I also found it... Not very engaging. As slow as real life, apparently. My favorite exchange was this:
Rich-looking ER patient with what appears to be a sprain: I have been waiting here for five hours!
Character played by Maura Tierney: Sorry, we tend to lose track of time when we're trying to save lives.
Rich-looking ER patient with what appears to be a sprain: WAS THAT SARCASM?!?

... Sound familiar? Ha ha ha. It's also rude, mind you, but it's a more realistic kind of rude, the things you almost say when you're near the end of your tour of duty and dealing with a truly annoying person. But weirder things have happened in our ER (hey, it is the Philippines, after all...). Maybe that's the problem with ER.

Among those weird/normal things (note: these did not all happen to me in particular):
Stand-off between entire surgery team and a difficult watcher (complete with racist name-calling!)
Being clawed at by a delirious patient
Almost-catfights between obstetrics residents and patients in labor
Needlestick accidents with a known Hepatitis-B patient
Wrestling with a brain trauma patient in the ER who's lost it
Woman+family in denial of pregnancy even as her baby's crowning

Hey, maybe it's our experiences that should be televised!

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

You know what, I'm the same with tv shows involving lawyers; I just can't watch them. Eg Ally McBeal which I found really dumb and unrealistic. I guess it's just difficult to watch programmes about our chosen professions because we know too much about how it all works. Not that I am a solicitor anymore thank God LOL.

docemdy said...

Truth be told, I'd rather watch something else than medical dramas when I'm relaxing. But I do enjoy Nip/Tuck because it's unusual. House MD, I watch from time to time but only when I'm in the mood.

Anonymous said...

It's just entertainment.

Sad thing is, am not sure the public knows the difference.

How about the real life drama in the OB dept where they shout at patients who had abortions? Or they shout at moms in labor who are shouting because of labor pain, like it was under their entire control? (Just put them on epidural, dammit!)

YOu can tell, so which came first, art or life?

MerryCherry said...

Hahaha I like the list of things in the end. I can relate to most of it ESPECIALLY the needle stick injury.

Our so-called-life as MDs is just one big carnival, or soap opera, sometimes :)

Marjie said...

Too much of TV shows is unrealistic. And all of the ages they allege the characters to be are way off base! Much too old or much too young. I'd never watch a show about an industry which I know well, because it would honk me off way too much.

Swexie said...

that was interesting.. i've always enjoyed grey's anatomy and house... it's a sure different thing in the real world...

Manggy said...

Jan: Hah! Maybe many of the viewers were just interested in the never-ending saga of Ally and Billy. After all, many David E. Kelley shows are ridiculous... Maybe people tune into Grey's for Meredith and McDreamy.

Dr. Em: Well, I can think of two reasons why you'd want to watch Nip/Tuck, hahaha :) As for House, well... It becomes a little exhausting to watch all that spiteful banter. I love it when they shut up on that show.

Megamom: Sadder still that my own coleagues don't know the difference either! To be fair, the OB residents are a little nicer about it now, except when it comes to abortions.

MerryCherry: Gosh, you know, that happened to a friend of mine. He got the Igs and all, I wonder if he's okay.

Marjie: Yeah, they never turn out to be that accurate or interesting. Well, it would be interesting to find out what percentage of the viewers are doctors!

Swexie: Hah! I wouldn't know, I don't sleep around my co-workers, lol :)