Post created by Maddy
Hello all,
I am going to dive into one of the most popular television medical dramas: Grey’s Anatomy. Don't get me wrong I have watched all 15 seasons, but in this post, I am going to give you 4 reasons that Grey’s Anatomy is Anatomically incorrect.
Here are 5 reasons why Grey’s Anatomy is Anatomically incorrect
Violations of HIPAA - We all know that if a health care provider breaks HIPAA they risk being fired, however on Grey’s Anatomy that is not the case. There have been numerous examples in the show where it has been broken, one being: when Doctor Alex Karev performed a surgery on a young boy to remove a life-threatening tumor, even though it went against the parent's religious beliefs. However, there are no consequences. (funny how that works right?)
Non Compliance to medical regulations- Remember when Doctor Jo and Doctor Bailey proceed with performing a liver transplant from a dead guy into a healthy middle-aged woman despite lacking the chief's approval! That's a good example.
Too much Drama- As you know if you're a Grey’s fanatic: sleeping in on-call rooms and romance on the job happens way too often on the show. Not to mention the medical procedures that take place in Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital typically are far more extreme than your average hospital.
Failure to demonstrate the proper medical procedures -Here is my favorite debunk yet! A patient codes due to ventricular tachycardia (which we learned about last chapter) and Doctor Meredith Grey uses the AED to recharge the heart but when she yells clear, she leaves her hands on the patient instead of stepping back so she doesn’t become shocked. Spoiler Alert: She and her lifeless patient are perfectly fine, this is just one of the many failures to accurately demonstrate medical procedures.
Lastly: statistical data proving my debunk
TIME commenced a study where several advanced medical professionals watched all episodes from the first 12 seasons and compared the data and demographics of the trauma patients in Grey’s Anatomy to the National Trauma Databank. From this study, the researchers discovered that compared to the average trauma visits, the trauma patients at Grey’s Anatomy often experienced more severe and un-recoverable injuries. TIME states, “ 22% of trauma patients on Grey’s Anatomy didn’t survive, compared to 7% of the comparison group” (TIME).
All in all, Grey’s Anatomy does not depict medical reality, and although the medical terminology they use may be correct the show lacks many fundamental principles of medicine and creates a false representation of many medical professions.
My final thought- don’t go watch Greys Anatomy instead of studying for your anatomy test! It WON'T help. Grab a bowl of popcorn and watch it for entertainment instead!
Works cited
Beck, Julie. “Grey's Anatomy Affects How People See Health Care.” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 8 Jan. 2017, www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2014/08/healthcare-in-the-time-of-greys-anatomy/379087/. (Picture)
Ducharme, Jamie. “Grey's Anatomy Doesn't Depict Major Trauma Accurately, Study Says.” Time, Time, 20 Feb. 2018, time.com/5162534/is-greys-anatomy-accurate/.
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