Like most tv dramas, there is a lot of exaggeration. We all know it's illegal to "get it on" in the on call rooms and internships are nothing like they are on Grey's. However most of the cast members will do research on the "surgery" they are going to preform to help it appear more realistic and you can almost always count on the medical cases being based off of actual events.
My favorite case debuted on Grey's was heart in a box. In this episode the then interns witness a heart living out side the body. Cristina Yang who is obsessed with cardiology got to wheel around a "heart in a box" while making her bucket list of surgeries. There were many instances where spectators put the show's writer, Shondra Rhimes, down because the medical cases she wrote around were obscure and unrealistic. Luckily for Shondra UCLA has her back.
In September of 2011 UCLA did a heart transplant where the donor heart, which is usually put on ice when transported, was kept alive by a machine that allowed the heart to continue beating. The heart transplant to Mr. Evans was very successful. At the end of the video below he jokes that now his new heart is secure he is first going to tackle his wife's to-do-list.
So yes, Grey's Anatomy is overly dramatic and things don't work like they do at Grey-Sloan Memorial Hospital as they do in real hospitals but the medical cases they show us are based on real life. If you are not a Grey's super fan like I am and still have a hard time believing they actually use real cases, please do the research yourself.
That's so cool that a lot of the actors will do research on what they're doing. I guess I shouldn't be surprised being a theater major that has been to taught to research for a role. I guess I just didn't think about it since for TV it's a one time thing and in the theater you have to do the role many times before you're done. There's also a lot more rehearsal time for theater. It's cool to see that there really isn't that big of a difference.
ReplyDeleteBri, this is such an interesting topic! I used to watch Grey's back in the beginning seasons, but I haven't seen it in awhile and am not caught up on everything that has happened. However, I've seen plenty of the medical procedures and now being a nurse-in-training, I definitely agree that they seem pretty realistic. I've been able to watch surgery this semester and found it to be similar to what's on tv, but just not as exciting. People also need to realize that a tv show has to be interesting and keep people on the edge of their seat. So of course the procedures are going to be a little more fast paced, but it's really not that much different in real-life. Also, that "heart in a box" is thing is so cool!!
ReplyDelete