Scarlet and Gray Anatomy: Similarities and differences between real life and TV doctors

It’s a beautiful day to debunk TV myths. People have been interested in the lure of hospital drama, mysterious illnesses and gorgeous doctors since the early days of lobotomies and whiskey anesthetics. Since evening television first started capitalizing on medical dramas, American consumers have been fascinated by the inner workings of hospitals.

But it’s not just everyday people.

Here's what three emergency physicians have to say about your favorite medical shows.

What’s your experience with watching medical TV shows?

“I love watching them. You’d think I’d get enough excitement on the job, but I continue to be fascinated by the allure and drama depicted on TV. Medicine is a universally relatable topic. Everyone has had a family member who’s been ill. Everyone has been to a hospital before. The subject matter isn’t too foreign, even for those who haven’t had much medical experience.”—Lydia Sahlani, MD

“My wife is an OB, and I’ll sit with her in the evenings. She watches Grey’s Anatomy, and I’m guilty of watching by association. Every once in a while, it’ll grab my attention, and I’ll roll my eyes at various things that happen on the show.”—Eric Adkins, MD

“I used to enjoy them more when I was younger, before starting medical school. There was always something exciting about being a doctor on those shows. I still remember my favorite episodes of ER and Scrubs.”—Mark Conroy, MD

What are some of the biggest ways TV doctors and real doctors differ?

“The way medicine is portrayed on TV fails to recognize the specialized roles of each doctor. These shows often don’t show you medics, techs, nurses, social workers, PAs and physician specialists working together to diagnose and treat patients. You’re left with the impression that a singular physician is a jack of all trades: meeting a patient at the scene, stabilizing them in the ER and then whisking them off for an operation.”—Sahlani

“There always seems to be one or two characters that get to yell at everyone with impunity and then go about their day. While every physician has their own personality, the interactions are more collegial and people often work together, even in stressful situations, to do the best for their patients.”—Conroy

“Doctors in real life are much busier when you think about the types of things they are doing, whether it’s in an office space or if you’re in a special clinic, emergency department or operating room. The pace of real life is a little bit faster than what you’re going to see on those shows.”—Adkins

Let’s talk about the drama. Is there any drama in real hospitals?

“I have to laugh about all the drama depicted (on the shows). Most of the ‘drama’ I encounter consists of making many phone calls; digging through electronic charting; discussing conditions with residents, patients and their families; and working with the ED team to stabilize and treat as safely and efficiently as possible. When you deal with emergencies daily, it makes them less dramatic. And, of course, there’s romance on the shows—the interplay between providers is much less predicated on amorous notions.”—Sahlani

“So many of the shows are always implying that there are intense relationships that are going on between the colleagues, whether it’s the physicians or the nurses on the show. The doctors aren’t dating each other. Occasionally, groups will go out and socialize together, but I wouldn’t consider that an everyday occurrence.”—Adkins

What are some of the biggest medical inaccuracies?

“The speed at which things occur makes me laugh a lot of the time. Good medical care takes time—test results, consultation with colleagues, the impact of a new medicine. TV condenses things down into 30- or 60-minute blocks, and I don’t know much care that gets delivered that quickly.”—Conroy

“I worry that sometimes the TV shows give the public the perception that everything is fixable, and you can fix it now. Unfortunately even with all the tools and knowledge we have now, we can’t always fix things. Even things like putting someone through CPR. CPR, unfortunately, has a pretty low survival rate in the hospital, but should still be done for anyone who has a cardiac arrest outside of the hospital.”—Adkins

“There are so many inaccuracies depicted on shows with regard to patient monitoring devices, procedures and even dialogue. As a physician watching these shows, seeing them perform CPR in an inaccurate way and using defibrillators we haven’t used in decades is jarring. Also, everyone yells ‘stat.’ I work in an ER and, while we order tests stat, we aren’t making ‘stat’ verbal orders every 5 minutes.”—Sahlani

Alright, it can’t all be fake. Are there any similarities?

“There’s a reliance on the members of the cast working as a team: they’re there for each other for emotional, personal and professional support. I’d say in the ER, the reality is that we do function as a family. You work alongside others, share challenging cases, and celebrate wins and mourn losses. We are a team.”—Sahlani

“The emotion that real life physicians feel when they’re caring for someone is often well portrayed. The excitement when things go well and strong connections between patients and physicians is real. That connection, however, comes with heartache when something goes wrong or someone dies.”—Conroy

What’s something you want people who watch these shows to know about real doctors?

“I think the thing for people to be aware of is, it’s not like the doctor isn’t doing anything. Some of the shows make it out like the doctor is off taking a break or they’re busy socializing. It’s important to understand that if they don’t see their physician and if they’re running behind, there’s usually a good reason why that’s happening.”—Adkins

“More than anything I want people to know that physicians are human, and they’re doing the best they can. These shows have created a way for people to relate to physicians’ personal and professional struggles. Ultimately, others should know we’ve taken an oath to put the welfare of others ahead of our own, and it’s an oath we take seriously.”—Sahlani

“Be patient with your doctor and have an open conversation. Often the biggest challenge for providing excellent care is having a good discussion. This never seems to be the focus on TV shows and often leads to unreasonable expectations that real life doctors can’t always achieve.”—Conroy

What character or medical show do you relate with the most?

“The one thing I think I did watch was ER. That was at least, of my time, the original show to watch. I got references made of John Carter, Noah Wyle’s character, when I was going through my own training.”—Adkins

“I’d say I’m a cross between Elliot Reid and J.D. from Scrubs. Elliot is feisty, fun, but also serious. J.D. is compassionate and has enthusiasm for patient care, and which has always comes easily to me.”—Sahlani

“I always liked Noah Wyle’s character on ER because he always was focused on doing the right thing for his patients. J.D. from Scrubs is still my favorite character of all time, though, since he enjoyed each and every day.”—Conroy

Lydia Sahlani, Mark Conroy and Eric Adkins are emergency medicine physicians at the The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and assistant professors in The Ohio State University College of Medicine.