America has been known, especially in recent years, to
have a fascination with reality television shows or show related to that genre
in content. In particular, the world of hospitals has intrigued Americans for
many years. This love for hospitals comes from America’s passion to know what
is going on in different cultures or worlds they are not a part of or
associated with. Also, according to Professor George Ikkos, the president of
the Royal Society of Medicine's psychiatry section, he believes the reason why medical dramas are very popular because it
is more to do with learning about ourselves from other people. Medical dramas
give viewers a visual image of how physicians interact with the human body.
This
love for television adaptations of the hospital world dates back to the 1950’s.
The first medical drama to air on television was City Hospital, in 1951. Ever since then, the popularity of that
genre has continued to rise and has led to the shows we love today such as Scrubs, House, ER, etc. These shows rank
amongst the top rated shows on television. ER became most nominated television series in TV history, acquiring 122 Emmy nominations and 22
Awards while attracting a staggering audience of 47.8 million viewers.
Medical
Dramas place a heavy emphasis on physicians
In medical dramas, physicians are the ones who play the leading role in the television shows. They are the ones who go around the hospitals completing various tasks, sometimes daunting, on a daily occasion. They also play the hero role in each episode by saving the critically ill patients’ lives towards the end of each episode. From the viewer’s perspective, it seems like the physicians complete all of the work needed to be done around a hospital daily without much help from other people on the medical staff such as nurses. Nurses play a small role in these medical dramas and are seen just observing in the background while the physicians lay it out all on the line to treat the patients. According to Dr. Sacared Bodison, an adolescent medicine pediatrician and pediatrician at the University of Maryland Health Center, nurses play a larger role in the hospital world then shown on television.
Nurses
are vital to success of physicians on a daily basis. The relationship physicians
have with nurses is very important as they are the ones who manage the patients
moment to moment which gives the physicians an accurate update on the patient’s
status, allowing them to give the proper and correct treatment. Downplaying the
role of nurses in medical dramas gives people the false perception that they
are not really needed and used in the hospital setting.
Improper
techniques are conveyed on medical dramas
Many
surgical procedures are performed on these shows to increase the excitement of
the episodes. However, these operational procedures are show in a short
variation as the allotted time slot for the show would not be enough to show
the entire process of the procedure. Certain techniques that are performed on
these various shows are not done entirely correct. Some techniques like CPR aren’tdone as they are done in real life. The procedure is much more complicated than
indicated on television. This gives viewers a false representation of a
technique performed my health professionals and those naïve to it may interpret
it as the correct way and attempt to perform it in situations that call for it.
Completing the improper technique may be fatal to those that need the procedure
done on them in cases where they don’t have access to a hospital. Dr. Bodison
goes in depth on how medical dramas simplify techniques used to treat patients.
Over
dramatized content leads to an effect on people’s perception of the medical
world
Most of the time
in these television series, the shows are more about what happens outside of
the professional setting as they involve other aspects not relating to the
hospital world. Personal relationships and stories are intertwined in the plot
of the show and play a huge role in increasing the entertainment value. Without
those plot add-ons, the shows wouldn’t be nearly as exciting and people may not
even watch it as it would be really boring. This causes medical dramas to add
twists to the show to keep the viewers on their heels pertaining to what’s
going to happen next. People are very interested in drama, which is a big part
of medical television shows. The entertainment value added to the shows also
changes what is being presented as the things that happen in the hospital
world.
According
to a study conducted by Solange Davin, people that are highly intelligent and
insightful can interpret the information being presented to them while watching
the shows. That means the shows do little to enhance or affect their knowledge of
the medical world. They know what is correct and not correct in their viewing of
medical dramas. Those types of people aren’t people who fall under the category
of people who are considered “sponges” for information. On the other hand, viewers
who are less educated use these shows as learning tool for learning about
health related topics. This presents a problem as they cannot tell what is
factual or fictional within the show, thus leading them to soak in all
information as factual as the shows are supposed to depict the real hospital
world. Dr. Bodison provides her insight on how medical dramas can either excite
or scare people about the health profession.
Although
medical dramas’ main purpose is not to serve as learning tool about health
related information for the audience, they cannot assume everyone knows this
and might use the show for that very reason. These shows must be aware of the
information they present to the public as may play a huge role in determining a
person’s perception of the medical world. These shows may influence people to
be involved or not involved in medicine for the wrong reasons as they used the television
shows to help determine their judgment. It may also lead to the spread of
misinformation and inaccurate views on health care and the health care system.
Medical dramas should be more selective in the content they display in their
shows.
