I can’t help it!  It’s near impossible for me to watch a medical show on TV without picking out all the things they’re doing wrong.  I do my best to sit back and simply enjoy, but the errors always jump out at me.  Most of them aren’t really a big deal.  Maybe a nurse draws blood at the wrong angle, or the CPR breaths are done wrong.  That’s okay, I can live with that.  But then there are others that simply drive me CRAZY!  Here are 5 of them:

1. The Non-intubated patient: As a lung and ICU doctor, this one takes the cake for me. Time after time, TV patients who are supposed to be in respiratory failure and on mechanical ventilation for life support aren’t really intubated.  For those who don’t know, intubation is when we put a breathing tube into a patient’s trachea and connect them to the ventilator to help them breath.  The TV guys often miss one big part of this process, showing the tube in the patient’s mouth.  Here’s a really big hint about life support in respiratory failure patients…it won’t work if the tube isn’t in the right place!

2. Let’s shock a patient in asystole (flatline). Okay, I’m sure you’ve seen this one.  A patient dies and everyone goes crazy.  They place the defibrillation pads on him or her then show an EKG with no electrical rhythm (asystole/flatline).  Then you hear the doc yell, “CLEAR” and they shock the patient.  That’s COMPLETELY wrong!  Defibrillation is not how we treat asystole.  Don’t try this one at home folks!

3. Doctors who do everything. I first noticed this one on House MD.  House and his team rarely ever called for a consult.  They did everything on their own.  From Infectious Disease, to Radiology, to Surgeries, they were experts in all of it.  Sorry to burst your bubble, but when you’re wearing that white coat, you might be good, but you won’t be that good.  No doctor can do it all, we specialize for a reason.

4. Surviving the lung stab. A classic scene; the bad guy stabs the good guy right in the chest.  Good guy screams, moans, and keeps on fighting.  A little blood oozes onto the shirt but not enough to slow down our hero.  A few moments later, the bad guy is handcuffed (or dead) and good guy is sitting down in a little pain.  Here’s the reality of the situation, when people get stabbed in the chest with a big enough weapon, they’re likely going to get a pneumothorax (collapses lung).  Beyond the critical blood vessels that might be hit which could be enough to lead to death, the collapsed lung would drain their breath and eventually could lead to cardiac arrest.  Most of those patients will need a chest tube in that situation.

5. Full recovery within seconds of CPR. How about the scene when a person drowns then gets CPR.  What typically happens next on TV?  They cough up some water, look tired for a second or two, then recover fully to 100%.  Fact check!  Most patients who code don’t come back from it (i.e. they die).  Even in the hospital with the best medical care we have, a lot of patients still die post cardiac arrest.  And if they do survive, most take several months to regain full function (if they ever reach that point).

Have you seen any medical errors on TV?  Which ones give you a good laugh?  Share in the comments.

I hope this post doesn’t ruin your enjoyment in medical dramas.  Although they’re annoying at times, they’re also rather entertaining and add a level of humor to the show.  Just don’t try these tactics at home!

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