“As (writers) we’re trained to consult each other to get opposing views” – Meredith Grey. Of course, Meredith was referencing surgeons, but her statement also applies in the dissection of her own words; both sides must be analyzed. Commonly, Grey’s Anatomy is ridiculed for being medically inaccurate and unrealistic, yet the other – and less frequently discussed – viewpoint is that Grey’s Anatomy holds many wise and useful messages for more an audience wider than just surgeons.
Critics are right when it comes to the numbers situation, more than just a few low percentage events plague Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital. In fact, according to a study found in the journal “Trauma Surgery and Acute Care Open”, 50% of the TV patients had a recovery period in the hospital of less than a week, whereas for real patients this occurs for less than 20%. The amount of patients released early in the show can create unrealistic expectations for patients who come in expecting immediate care or a different environment than that of the pit in Grey’s. Although, from an outsider’s perspective, whenever a patient has a longer recovery period the surgeons spend special time and attention to help them get through it; the extra effort spent demonstrates the importance of compassion even after the trauma is over. Since fewer people endure the difficulty of a long recovery period, the show has more time to spend going into depth on the issues that recovering patients encounter. It also allows for the surgeons to give more passionate advice to characters struggling with recovery as there are not as many of them.
One of the many lessons on healing demonstrated by the surgeon in Grey’s Anatomy (Mark Sloan).
Although the struggle of the recovery period may not be prevalent for as many of the Grey’s patients, it does not lessen the fact that many still undergo rare and catastrophic events. These patients have their lives turned upside down in an attempt to gain pity from viewers, but it also shows that no matter how much of a low one can hit, there is always a chance for recovery (Meredith demonstrates this with her near death experiences many times). The motivational talks from surgeons to patients and sometimes even the other way around are beneficial to all viewers.
“It doesn’t matter how tough we are. Trauma always leaves a scar. It follows us home, it changes our lives. Trauma messes everybody up. But maybe that’s the point. All the pain and the fear and the crap. Maybe going through all that is what keeps us moving forward. It’s what pushes us. Maybe we have to get a little messed up, before we can step up.” – Alex Karev
Many doctors other than just Alex Karev provide inspiration and show passion for their patients which can be educational or helpful to their viewers as well, but sometimes the actions taken after their talks can be passionate to a fault. Almost every doctor commits a fireable offense (or a completely illegal one like Izzie unplugging a patient to cheat the donor list system) in an attempt to be moral. These portrayals obviously are negative to any viewers going into a medical field who get the impression that by rule-breaking they are fulfilling their moral duty. On the other hand it teaches the importance of compassion to the viewers and shows the struggles that doctors go through; it reminds viewers that everyone is human and because of that they all want the best for one another.
Overall it would appear that Grey’s Anatomy is in fact a bit improbable and therefore not the best informational source for those wishing to learn about the medical field. In spite of that – the moral advice and lessons on humanity that are portrayed are unmatched – Grey’s is a very educational source for viewers who are willing to take in the deeper lessons.
Links:
https://www.elitedaily.com/entertainment/greys-anatomy-quotes-heart/1750576
I really liked how, even though you are an avid watcher of Grey’s Anatomy, you still provide perspectives from both sides of the spectrum. The power that films and Tv shows hold is a blessing and a curse at the same time. It has the power to sway an audience directly and indirectly. My favorite Tv show American Horror Story often talks about heavy issues such as sexual assault, suicide, and drug abuse which can have a positive impact by opening taboo conversations, however, some may see this as glorifying sexual assault, mental health, and druge use. I guess this applies to many aspects in life so the most important thing to do is keep an open mind.
This is such an interesting point that I’d never really considered when watching Grey’s! Naively, given that I have no knowledge of the medical field, I just blindly assume that whatever the surgeons in the show are doing is pretty close to accurate in real life. However, I definitely agree that the show is so so unrealistic in terms of the amount of catastrophic events that have occurred over the last 15 seasons, but, hey, they’re just trying to create a show. Also, I feel like what the show has done with Meredith’s character, especially in the earlier seasons, was definitely overkill in terms of how much drama and near-death situations she was put in. In the more recent seasons too I feel like all of the drama with fireable offenses is a bit confusing especially bringing it back to Izzie back in season 6 (I think) and Ben (I forget which season) in relation to Meredith’s insurance fraud right now is just not realistic at all. On another note, though, I think to a certain extent Grey’s can be pretty informative when it comes to technical terms in the surgery scenes and one of the more important impacts that it’s had is the fact that it’s inspired a lot of people to go into the medical field. Even at some point, I wanted to become a surgeon because of Grey’s but that quickly faded given the amount of stress that the surgeons on the show have. But in general, I think Grey’s has had a positive impact for viewers. even if a lot of situations are improbable and much of it is a bit over-dramatized. In the end, I think viewers just have to know that it’s just a show 🙂