Post created by Emily and Cameron
Two Qualified Pre-Pre-Nursing Students Tackle the Opening Scene
We all know that the infamous Grey’s Anatomy has been highly criticized for its inaccurate depiction of medicine. The overexaggerated drama, sex, and miraculous surgeries make this show the laughingstock of anyone who has even a little knowledge of medicine.
However, there is a newer show that is apparently one of the most accurate medical shows out there – The Resident.
We are by no means doctors or even medical students, but rather two college kids who want to investigate the accuracy of our favorite show. We are only attempting to dissect the opening scene of the pilot episode, a scene that includes a routine appendectomy by the chief surgeon that goes horribly wrong.
There are 5 major parts to this scene that raise questions about its accuracy.
The appendectomy is done in a very invasive and unusual way.
Typically, appendectomies are done laparoscopically, meaning that a small incision is made, and a tool is inserted that will perform the surgery. This is the routine method that provides the easiest recovery. However, in this scene, the patient’s entire chest cavity is open (for easier access??), and Dr. Bell, the chief of surgery, has a scalpel dangerously close to major arteries. Certainly, there are many things that could go wrong.
The selfie.
Okay, a selfie? One of the excited nurses, who is scrubbing in on her first surgery with Dr. Bell, pulls out her phone (which I’m sure is sterile) and proceeds to take a selfie to document the special day. This is extremely unprofessional, and eventually distracts the nurses from being ready to help Dr. Bell. In a real operating room, no cell phones would be present.
Was that actually 2 liters of blood?
The patient unexpectedly starts to wake up, causing Dr. Bell to nick one of his arteries (although his hand tremors had something to do with this as well). The first thing wrong here is that Dr. Bell leaves the scalpel in the field, meaning that after he made the cut, he kind of just left the scalpel there unnecessarily. Second, the artery he nicks starts squirting out blood, which is normal. However, one of the nurses yells out that the patient has lost 2 liters of blood. If you watch the scene, much less than this actually is lost. Perhaps as little as a quarter of a liter would actually be lost, and not nearly as much as 2 liters!
Sad attempt at CPR.
With the patient flatlining, Dr. Bell starts performing CPR to revive him. However, he only does so for approximately 30 seconds before calling his time of death! In normal procedures for cardiac failure, CPR would be performed for 2 minutes before rechecking the pulse, as well as injecting epinephrine and a blood IV. However, none of these protocols are used, and Dr. Bell skips right to the death part.
Chief of surgery saves his skin.
While he may have killed his patient, Dr. Bell makes sure that his surgery won’t suffer the same fate. When he realizes that the death was his fault, he quickly states that the patient had a preexisting heart condition that lead to his death. Out of fear of losing their jobs, the rest of the surgical team complies with the lie. While hospitals are not completely free of corruption, this incident would be very unlikely to actually occur. Not only do most doctors have integrity, but there are platforms for nurses to voice their opinions without fear of being cut.
Ultimately, this opening scene is riddled with dramatization and inaccuracies for the sake of TV. That being said, this show does prove to be more accurate than it’s TV counterparts (I’m talking to you, Grey’s Anatomy) as a whole.
The Resident is still one of our favorite shows, and we have learned to enjoy its storyline while also taking its medical depictions with a grain of salt.
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