Even if you haven't watched one episode, just about everyone has heard of "Grey's Anatomy." It's now starting it's 15th season this month! But as a nursing student, sometimes watching the show gives me a headache or a bad case of the giggles because of how many inaccuracies it has. Here are just six mess-ups for your own personal enjoyment.
1. Their hair is NEVER up! Like. Never.
Grey's Anatomy. 8:13
Netflix.com
Nurses and doctors constantly have their hair up even when just walking around the hospital. You never want your hair down because you could bend down and accidentally ruin a sterile field or brush it against a sick patient. The possibilities are endless. And in this picture Meredith and Christina are about to perform emergency surgery and their hair is just loose and chilling. Like what?? Why? Who taught you that?! I get that the ER can but busy and sometimes you have to make decisions in a spilt second, but one of those decisions could be putting your hair up so it doesn't go into someone's open chest... just saying.
2. Doctors are constantly checking on patients.
Dr. Warren
https://giphy.com/gifs/abcnetwork-l1J9tnkmqOcNpTk40
Attendings are constantly telling interns to go check on patients, prep them for surgery or check on their vitals. *insert unimpressed face here.* I have never in my life had anyone other than my nurse take my vitals. In the hospital I've prepped several patients for surgery and every time the most help I get is from another nurse. If the patient was a VIP or high risk, then maybe a resident might come and check on the patient in pre-op. But that's one strong maybe!
3. Everyone is dating everyone in the hospital.
Dr. Robbins
https://giphy.com/gifs/abcnetwork-puoJieqrxeNPy
I get that the show needs drama and romance to help keep everything interesting but in reality very few people date within the hospital. In all the hospitals I've worked at, I've heard of only one case where a nurse and doctor had an affair, divorced their previous spouses and married each other. And that was it. End of drama. When you have to see someone day in and day out, especially in certain stressful situations you just don't want to have to see them even more when you get home. Also if you're both on-call on the weekends, who's taking care of your kids? It's just more work than it's worth.
4. Many people in surgeries!
Dr. Avery
https://giphy.com/gifs/abcnetwork-1CyDxZtsOeC1W
"Grey's Anatomy" likes to make it seem like in every surgery you need six doctors, 10 nurses and a whole audience for it to be complete. Okay, if it's a huge research hospital that has cutting edge surgeries on the daily, then yeah they might have a room where you can sit and watch the surgery. But normal, everyday hospitals have only a handful people in the operating room.
In real life, there's one surgeon who performs the surgery; a tech who hands the surgeon whatever tools they need; an anesthesiologist who sedates the patient and monitors their vitals (and may administer more medication) throughout the surgery; and, finally, a nurse who handles most of the behind-the-scenes work. Nurses' jobs include grabbing tools from other rooms if needed, making sure there is the same amount of supplies in the end as in beginning and ensuring that the surgery is being done on the correct patient, on the correct side and for the correct reasons. If it's a more complicated surgery like a C-Section or open heart surgery, then maybe they'll be more people helping.
5. Doctor's are constantly waiting at patient's bedsides after surgery.
Dr. Wilson and Dr. Warren
https://giphy.com/gifs/abcnetwork-3ohhwMhfwjs6NF9ixi
Literally after every surgery, the doctors in "Grey's Anatomy" are at the patient's bedsides just patiently waiting for them to wake up so they can make sure they're okay. Usually, surgeons stop by the patient's room an hour to an hour and a half after the patient is out of surgery. If the patient is awake by that point, great. The surgeon checks them out, looks at their chart to check how their vitals have been and then they leave. If the patient isn't awake, the doctor will find the nurse to check how the patient has been post-op, and either tell the nurse to call them when the patient wakes up or just call if there's an issue. And then they leave.
6. Where are the nurses??!
Dr. Wilson.
https://giphy.com/gifs/abcnetwork-NeoKfEmhv5zdC
I'm not saying this because I'm biased, but without nurses, there would be no hospitals. We run a Here are part of patients' day-to-day lives. Every patient has a nurse assigned to them 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Doctors come into the hospital around mid-morning to check on their patients and make sure their medications are working. After that, they simply leave and go onto the next patient. They might stick around a few minutes longer if they need to make adjustments to the medication list or plan of treatment. But once they've checked on their patients and their charting is done, they're out!
Dear Shonda Rhimes and other "Grey's Anatomy" writers: please visit a hospital for two seconds and then you can keep writing.