I used to be a huge ER fan. Back in the good ol' Dr. Doug Ross days, I wouldn't miss an episode. It was the first medical drama that I had ever really watched, and I paid attention to it like I was watching an educational video in med school.This came in handy several years back when I was on a flight to Scotland. It was a long flight and I was trying to sleep when I heard a commotion. A middle-aged man a few rows ahead of me appeared to be choking. However, it quickly became apparent that he was having an allergic reaction that was causing his throat to close up. It was bad news all around, but luckily, there had been an episode of ER that dealt with a very similar situation. So what did I do? I grabbed a pen, took it apart, and jammed the tube into his throat, opening his airway and saving his life. True story.
Okay, none of that actually happened -- because HOSPITAL SHOWS ARE NOT REAL. Apparently, however, Italy doesn't think its residents understand this.
The National Federation of Medical Colleges, a leading doctor's group in Italy, is so upset by the inaccuracies in American medical shows such as Scrubs, Grey's Anatomy, ER and House, that they believe Italian broadcasters should refrain from airing these shows at all, lest they prompt people to take medicine into their own hands.
Annalisa Silvestro, president of the NFMC says that "These programs are teaching viewers inaccurate views on medicine," and that "They are spreading misinformation." OMG. You mean I shouldn't start that surgery hut in my garage after all? Well there goes the rest of my summer.
There's no word yet as to whether or not Italian broadcasters are actually taking this seriously and are planning on altering any of their programming, so for now at least, Italian viewers can get their fill of McDreamy, McSteamy, and the rest of the lot.
What do you think? Are medical shows dangerous? Does watching House make you an expert diagnostician?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
8-20-2008 @ 12:43PM
Bryan McGuckin said...
Well, I know it's not Lupus.
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8-20-2008 @ 12:45PM
kip said...
I'm most surprised Scrubs is on that list, as it is very clearly a comedy.
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8-20-2008 @ 1:00PM
Chris said...
It's my medical opinion that the NFMC should chill out. Take two suspension of disbelief tablets and call me in the morning.
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8-20-2008 @ 1:20PM
cashew_76 said...
What?! Medical shows aren't real?! Next thing I know, you'll be telling me that there are no real magic islands or smoke monsters!
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8-20-2008 @ 1:44PM
Elf said...
I hate to go against the tide here, but I think they may have a point. Just last week I was flying my starship out toward Orion when I developed a coolant leak and my warp engines were on the brink of exploding. Every time I saw this happen on TV the first thing they do is prepare to jettison the warp core. Or course in real life, the proper procedure is to kill power to the engines then detach the outer hull plates to the nacelles to let the natural cold temperatures of space do the cooling for you. They only play up the jettisoning of the warp core for dramatic effect, and had I mimicked what I'd seen on TV I'd probably still be drifitng in space with my life support systems about to fail.
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8-24-2008 @ 7:47PM
eugene said...
Obviously you've never had to deal with a coolent breach in space, if you you'd know that it is actually very difficult to bleed heat in space since the virtual vacuum of space makes it a very poor conductor of heat and thus you're forced to rely only on your ability to radiate heat from your vessel which can take a very very long time, while an over heated warp coil takes a very short amount of time to do something very bad.
I'm sorry to say, this is one instance where watching TV and doing what the TV shows do would have actually saved your life.
8-20-2008 @ 4:04PM
Kim said...
I've been an RN for 13 years. You would be amazed at the number of people who quote television medicine as the gospel truth! The Italian docs have a legitimate gripe. I often have the same gripe. Real and ACCURATE medicine is every bit as dramatic as inaccurate medicine. I just don't understand why these shows, which have high priced MD's as consultants, don't take a little more responsibilty!
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8-20-2008 @ 5:50PM
ORKMommy said...
Um...because it's TV...and we watch to be entertained.
If I want real life medical drama I tune into Hopkins or Trauma: Life in the ER.
p.s. It actually was lupus in my cousin! He didn't believe the doctor at first! :-)
8-20-2008 @ 11:16PM
eugene said...
meh, this is Italy, where you can be fined 50 euros for lying down in a park to read a book. Apparantly passing BS laws against romanians and gypsies is passe now and they've moved on to passing BS laws against each other now.
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8-21-2008 @ 8:43AM
FulviaLeopardi said...
I left a comment this morning, but mail doesn't arrive.
So, I repeat: I'm Italian, and Annalisa Silvestro never talk about Grey's Anatomy & co.
She's pissed of with italian series, that you don't know (and believe...how lucky you are...they suck!)...amico mio, camici bianchi, terapia d'urgenza, etc etc etc
We (Italians) love medical shows, and Italian broadcasters love american series (me too; but they love them for ratings, very high).
We watch a lot of tv shows (not only medical)...you can watch at corriere della sera,
http://www.corriere.it/spettacoli/08_agosto_18/medici_contro_fiction_c1541848-6cfc-11dd-b80d-00144f02aabc.shtml
and you'll find that silvestro never mentioned ER & co.
ps sorry for my mistakes, I'm working and I'm writing/thinking in Italian, I'm not multitasking :)
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