Grey's Anatomy

[katrinadams9]

Has anyone watched the new show on ABC, Grey's Anatomy? I watched it for the first time yesterday and loved it. I believe it's going to be on every Sunday at 10pm.

The only thing I was confused about is that the main characters are interns. Their boss is a resident. Her boss is the attending, who is gunning for the chief resident position. It seems to me like the work the interns do on the show is more like what you'd be doing during year 3-4 of med school.

My question is this: how exactly does the hospital heirarchy work? Did the show get it wrong, or was I just confuseled?

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[briansmichaud]

did they not use the paddles on a flatliner? i thought that was a no no. hahahahah.

i like the show too! dr. grey is pretty hot! but she has this annoying sort of smug smirk thing going on...sometimes it is sexy and alluring and sometimes it looks like she needs to be whopped upside the head by her chief resident

 

[Pox in a box]

did they not use the paddles on a flatliner? i thought that was a no no. hahahahah.

i like the show too! dr. grey is pretty hot! but she has this annoying sort of smug smirk thing going on...sometimes it is sexy and alluring and sometimes it looks like she needs to be whopped upside the head by her chief resident

Dr. Grey seems to be the ultimate gunner and the people everyone else would hate. When the girl flatlined that had the "grand mal" seizures, they did the code on her but did anyone notice that there were people touching the patient when the charge was initiated? Also, we learned in our neuro class that terms such as "grand mal" and "Jacksonian march" are no longer used in clinical practice due to their confusing categorization.

 

[artemis]

I think these shows will never be "accurate" as to what actually takes place in an actual hospital, but hey, it's not reality tv thank god....I think they just have to be taken at face value....for the purpose of entertainment. That said, I liked it it alot esp. the character of the korean chic. And I also find the Dr. Grey character borderline annoying, I guess i just want her to be wrong for once, maybe she wouldn't be so smug then??

 

[fourthyearmed]

Did it not bother anyone else that surgeons were taking care of a 15 year old with Seizures? That patient would go to Medicine or Peds at our hospital, never Surgery.

 

[rotatores]

The only thing I was confused about is that the main characters are interns. Their boss is a resident. Her boss is the attending, who is gunning for the chief resident position. It seems to me like the work the interns do on the show is more like what you'd be doing during year 3-4 of med school.

He's gunning for the Chief of Surgery..not the Chief Resident...and you're right..they are doing a lot of scut work...but you'd be surprised how much scut work an intern does.

rotatores
USUHS 2006

 

[ddmo]

The inaccuracies of the show have ruined it for me. I mean, how much does production cost, they couldn't get a real doctor in there to verify what's going on. It's bad when ER is much more realistic.

Although, I wouldn't mind doing my surgery internship there. Hell, all they do is sit on their asses and chat, not to mention having time to be wandering through other services.

 

[rotatores]

The inaccuracies of the show have ruined it for me. I mean, how much does production cost, they couldn't get a real doctor in there to verify what's going on. It's bad when ER is much more realistic.

Although, I wouldn't mind doing my surgery internship there. Hell, all they do is sit on their asses and chat, not to mention having time to be wandering through other services.

She's making friends real fast by helping diagnose other intern's patients.

My favorite part about the show is after the end of a long shift she turns and faces the hospital with a huge grin like she's just finished solving the Aids epidemic.

I also like it how every intern appears to be a gunner.

I give the show about 3 more episodes...although I may eat these words.

 

[fateema368]

The show does seem very fuzzy on reality, and that Dr. Grey chick was on this episode on Law and Order where they recreated the events of this Canadian serial killer husband and wife team. Anyway, the Dr. Grey actress agree's to testify against her boyfriend to avoid jail time and it comes out later that she was in on the whole thing and even raped and murdered her younger sister to please her boyfriend. She does the smirk at the end while admitting it to the judge and every-time she does it on the show it really gets on my nerves too!

Whatever, I really like the Asian actress from the "Upside of Anger" and "Under the Tuscan Sun"; I think I'll continue watching because of her.

 

[Elysium]

I find the show pretty annoying, mostly because it's so inaccurate. What is she doing up there in the nursery dx newborns? She's a peds expert too? The Dr. Grey chick was also in "Old School" (the one that Luke Wilson liked). The Korean chick was also in "Sideways" (her name is Sandra Oh).

Basically, I think it's pretty lame. But I like the fact that the chief chief guy (the AA dude) also played Kersh on "The X-Files". But that's just me.

 

[Soleilpie]

I enjoyed it for the most part but was annoyed by how the nurses were treated…as if they don't have a clue and have little to no autonomy. It just rubbed me the wrong way when Dr. Grey was insulted that someone would call her a nurse. In the real world, you better respect your nurses or your job's going to be a lot harder. In general, nurses that work in the ICU, ER, trauma etc. have a level of knowledge that is well beyond that of a newly graduated doctor.

 

[fuzzyerin]

. It just rubbed me the wrong way when Dr. Grey was insulted that someone would call her a nurse.

She was insulted when her colleague, another intern, called her a nurse. You know what? I'd be pissed too. I didn't go to medical school and become a doctor to go into the hospital and be called a nurse by everyone (and it happens every day). This is not saying that nurses are not integral, necessary people ~ nurses have probably taught me more in medicine and I've relied on their expertise throughout med school and will do so throughout my residency. But I don't want to be called a nurse.

 

[Gut Shot]

The inaccuracies of the show have ruined it for me. I mean, how much does production cost, they couldn't get a real doctor in there to verify what's going on. It's bad when ER is much more realistic.

Way back when, like 1994-1997, ER did a fantastic job of letting the viewer see the "truth is stranger than fiction" interior of a hospital. I agree, and with so much good material available from reality, why stoop to making this swill?

 

[TommyGunn04]

I find the show pretty annoying, mostly because it's so inaccurate. What is she doing up there in the nursery dx newborns? She's a peds expert too? The Dr. Grey chick was also in "Old School" (the one that Luke Wilson liked).

I couldn't believe this either...it's so unrealistic! The guy gunning for chief of surgery just barges in and says "this is MY patient now," and the bearded guy just stands by and says, "He can do whatever he wants...he's an attending." HA! Other than perhaps in a very rural, isolated medical center without specialsits, I can't ever see a general surgeon taking a newborn as a patient, let alone actually doing the surgery after discovering the infant has Tetralogy of Fallot! What a crock!!!

 

[AJM]

Way back when, like 1994-1997, ER did a fantastic job of letting the viewer see the "truth is stranger than fiction" interior of a hospital. I agree, and with so much good material available from reality, why stoop to making this swill?

I totally agree. IMO, Scrubs is the most reality-based medical show out there -- almost every single scenario/storyline that they do has actually happened to me or one of my colleagues. And the show is hilarious. But when I talk with non-medical people about it, they don't like the show. Their reason? Because they think that the stuff that happens on the show would never happen in real life - therefore they don't think it's realistic.

I guess the truth is just too strange for the lay public to accept.

 

[briansmichaud]

My favorite part about the show is after the end of a long shift she turns and faces the hospital with a huge grin like she's just finished solving the Aids epidemic.

 

[anamarylee]

I couldn't believe this either...it's so unrealistic! The guy gunning for chief of surgery just barges in and says "this is MY patient now," and the bearded guy just stands by and says, "He can do whatever he wants...he's an attending." HA! Other than perhaps in a very rural, isolated medical center without specialsits, I can't ever see a general surgeon taking a newborn as a patient, let alone actually doing the surgery after discovering the infant has Tetralogy of Fallot! What a crock!!!

You guys are focusing too much on the medicine and not enough on the drama. The whole point of going to the nursery to see the newborns was between Grey and O'Malley (007), as a mental break from work. She saw that the baby had a Tet spell and went inside to check on the baby. The bearded guy was a resident, not an attending, and the female in the peds service was probably a peds resident (probably an R2 by her asessment of the baby). Dr Burke (an attending) came in and took over the baby in the peds service because the chief of surgery, Dr Webber, told Burke that he brought in Shepherd because Burke wasn't giving the extra mile; he was doing what was expected of him but nothing more, ie not enough to be the next chief of surgery.

 

[Gut Shot]

and the female in the peds service was probably a peds resident (probably an R2 by her asessment of the baby).

No, she was an intern, which became clear at the end of the episode, just before Grey's episode-ending sew-up-the-lesson monologue voice-over began (something which was blatantly ripped off of Scrubs).

I'd love to enjoy the show's drama, but it's like enjoying someone's new shoe purchase when he's kicking you in the groin.

 

[USFOptho]

To be honest, I find the show really really annoying and lame...

I tried to watch the episode on Sunday night, but turned it off after 30 minutes (even though according to the previews it looked like Katherine Heigl was going to strip it off in the locker room) because it was so lame. I hope this show gets canned! The only reason it has "23 million" viewers is because it's right after Desperate Housewives. Seems like a cheap move by ABC to try to get another hit! They should just stick with DH and Lost.

 

[bmcgilligan]

They should just stick with DH and Lost.

Don't forget about Boston Legal and Alias. I love those shows!

 

[USFOptho]

Don't forget about Boston Legal and Alias. I love those shows!

Ooh! How could I forget?

How did the FSU match turn out? Have they released their avg board scores yet?

 

[Aero047]

Boston Legal is a cheap spin off of The Practice! lol I'm liking Grey's Anatomy so far. I think Sandra Oh is the most funny character in there..so far so good

 

[Hercules]

The only reason it has "23 million" viewers is because it's right after Desperate Housewives. Seems like a cheap move by ABC to try to get another hit! They should just stick with DH and Lost.

ER has gotten so bad now that I think all the network execs smell blood. We'll probably see several medical dramas in the near future trying to capture the audience that ER had for some time.

 

[Blue Scrub]

Don't forget about Boston Legal and Alias. I love those shows!

I've watched Boston Legal a few times and I actually like it! I think its pretty funny, and James Spader is hilarious! The dialogue in that show is really humorous

 

[Elysium]

As far as medical shows go, I think the two best out there right now are "House" on FOX at 9pm Eastern and "Scrubs". I like them both for different reasons. Too bad they're on at the same time.

;(

 

[RangerD]

In Grey's Anatomy, they are all apparently Interns in a surgical residency program that will last 7 years. So, what specialty are they training for? Neurosurgery is 7 years...is that the only one that would fit the bill? I can't imagine some of them as neurosurgeons...

 

[Soleilpie]

She was insulted when her colleague, another intern, called her a nurse. You know what? I'd be pissed too. I didn't go to medical school and become a doctor to go into the hospital and be called a nurse by everyone (and it happens every day). This is not saying that nurses are not integral, necessary people ~ nurses have probably taught me more in medicine and I've relied on their expertise throughout med school and will do so throughout my residency. But I don't want to be called a nurse.

I'd be flattered if someone called me a nurse. It's seen as a negative by many because nursing isn't viewed as prestigious and some view nurses as "less." It's all based on ignorance though. Allnurses.com has talked about this site and how the students view doctors as way above a nurse and how cocky we are. I defended this site saying it was based on ignorance. I certainly hope I don't eat my words. If you ask a nurse turned doctor how they would feel about being called a nurse, I bet you'd be surprised.

 

[AJM]

I'd be flattered if someone called me a nurse. It's seen as a negative by many because nursing isn't viewed as prestigious and some view nurses as "less." It's all based on ignorance though. Allnurses.com has talked about this site and how the students view doctors as way above a nurse and how cocky we are. I defended this site saying it was based on ignorance. I certainly hope I don't eat my words. If you ask a nurse turned doctor how they would feel about being called a nurse, I bet you'd be surprised.

To tell you the truth, as a female resident I get annoyed when someone calls me a nurse. It's not because I think I am superior or more important than nurses -- it's just that we have different jobs with different responsibilities. What bothers me about it is that when I go to see a patient to do an admission/consult/discuss treatment plan, etc, the patient will see me and say something like "oh good, the nurse is here. Can you get me an extra blanket/some ginger ale/change my bedpan/check my IV because it's beeping?" And this is after I've just introduced myself as "Dr. AJM". Granted, the patients who make this mistake are usually older and therefore a bit more old-school. This doesn't happen with the younger patients. But it often will take much more prompting from me in order to get them on track to tell me their history or outpatient treatment plan, which can be pretty annoying. For example, on numerous occasions I've gotten the response "I'll just wait to talk about this until the doctor gets here" (my internal dialogue response: "I AM the **** doctor. Stop wasting my time!).

Oh, and in case you now think I'm a total a**, I'm not one of those residents who is so high on themselves that they will refuse to do something considered a "nurses' duty". If a patient tells me "nurse, get me a blanket", I will gently remind them that I am their doctor, but then I'll go get them an extra blanket or two or whatever else they need, rather than calling their already-busy nurse to do it. I know many residents that won't even do that -- they feel like they need to have a clear and defined separation of duties. I do draw the line at cleaning out bedpans, though...

 

[trauma_junky]

Has anyone watched the new show on ABC, Grey's Anatomy? I watched it for the first time yesterday and loved it. I believe it's going to be on every Sunday at 10pm.


The only thing I was confused about is that the main characters are interns. Their boss is a resident. Her boss is the attending, who is gunning for the chief resident position. It seems to me like the work the interns do on the show is more like what you'd be doing during year 3-4 of med school.

My question is this: how exactly does the hospital heirarchy work? Did the show get it wrong, or was I just confuseled?

They are PGY-1 surgical residents, that also handle IM cases

 

[trauma_junky]

To tell you the truth, as a female resident I get annoyed when someone calls me a nurse. It's not because I think I am superior or more important than nurses -- it's just that we have different jobs with different responsibilities. What bothers me about it is that when I go to see a patient to do an admission/consult/discuss treatment plan, etc, the patient will see me and say something like "oh good, the nurse is here. Can you get me an extra blanket/some ginger ale/change my bedpan/check my IV because it's beeping?" And this is after I've just introduced myself as "Dr. AJM". Granted, the patients who make this mistake are usually older and therefore a bit more old-school. This doesn't happen with the younger patients. But it often will take much more prompting from me in order to get them on track to tell me their history or outpatient treatment plan, which can be pretty annoying. For example, on numerous occasions I've gotten the response "I'll just wait to talk about this until the doctor gets here" (my internal dialogue response: "I AM the **** doctor. Stop wasting my time!).

Oh, and in case you now think I'm a total a**, I'm not one of those residents who is so high on themselves that they will refuse to do something considered a "nurses' duty". If a patient tells me "nurse, get me a blanket", I will gently remind them that I am their doctor, but then I'll go get them an extra blanket or two or whatever else they need, rather than calling their already-busy nurse to do it. I know many residents that won't even do that -- they feel like they need to have a clear and defined separation of duties. I do draw the line at cleaning out bedpans, though...

Just remind them that they will be recieving a bill from you JJ When I was an undergrad working as a tech in the ICU, the patients would call me Dr just because I was male. We bitch about gender labeling, but look at what we do subconsciously. I would always have to remind them that I am just the paramedic tech. Even though I just saved your life because the nurses can't recognise narcotic induced apnea. yep, they wanted you intubated and I recomended narcan.

 

[Soleilpie]

To tell you the truth, as a female resident I get annoyed when someone calls me a nurse. It's not because I think I am superior or more important than nurses -- it's just that we have different jobs with different responsibilities. What bothers me about it is that when I go to see a patient to do an admission/consult/discuss treatment plan, etc, the patient will see me and say something like "oh good, the nurse is here. Can you get me an extra blanket/some ginger ale/change my bedpan/check my IV because it's beeping?" And this is after I've just introduced myself as "Dr. AJM". Granted, the patients who make this mistake are usually older and therefore a bit more old-school. This doesn't happen with the younger patients. But it often will take much more prompting from me in order to get them on track to tell me their history or outpatient treatment plan, which can be pretty annoying. For example, on numerous occasions I've gotten the response "I'll just wait to talk about this until the doctor gets here" (my internal dialogue response: "I AM the **** doctor. Stop wasting my time!).

Oh, and in case you now think I'm a total a**, I'm not one of those residents who is so high on themselves that they will refuse to do something considered a "nurses' duty". If a patient tells me "nurse, get me a blanket", I will gently remind them that I am their doctor, but then I'll go get them an extra blanket or two or whatever else they need, rather than calling their already-busy nurse to do it. I know many residents that won't even do that -- they feel like they need to have a clear and defined separation of duties. I do draw the line at cleaning out bedpans, though...

I truly got the feeling from your post that it's not about a superiority complex but about what role you play in the whole scheme of things. I can respect that.
I have a sister who is an ICU nurse at a trauma center. A patient of hers, who was unable to speak at the time, wrote her a note that said, "You are a very good doctor." I can only assume it was because of the extensive knowledge and competence she displayed (aside from the fact that she always performs beyond what is expected of her). She thanked him and told him that she was a nurse. Some nurses get annoyed when people think they're a doctor or tell them they would make a good doctor. It gives this impression that they could do so much better for themselves or it conveys that in no way could a nurse possibly know that much about medicine. I guess I just want people to keep in mind that doctors could not do their job w/out nurses and nurses could not do their job w/out doctors. They compliment one another and there should always be a level of respect between the two (and with all healthcare providers). In general, does it really matter if a patient thinks a doctor is a nurse or vice versa as long as the work is getting done?

 

[waterski232002]

Even though I just saved your life because the nurses can't recognise narcotic induced apnea. yep, they wanted you intubated and I recomended narcan.

Sorry... you didn't save the guys life. I'll give you due credit for making a good catch the nurses missed, but it wouldn't have killed him. Patients don't die from opioids, they die from lack of an airway.

Giving him his airway whether via BVM, ETT, or chemical reversal is what "saved" his life. Either choice would have worked.

 

[waterski232002]

In Grey's Anatomy, they are all apparently Interns in a surgical residency program that will last 7 years. So, what specialty are they training for? Neurosurgery is 7 years...is that the only one that would fit the bill? I can't imagine some of them as neurosurgeons...

Neurosurgery is not 7 years. No residency is 7 years. However, Neurosurgery and the combined tract to Plastic Surgery are the longest residencies which are both 6 years. Combined EM/IM/Critical Care is also 6 years.

The only fields that require 7 years of training are subspecialties which require residency and then fellowship such as CT surgery, Interventional Cardiology, Peds Surgery, etc.

Just to clarify a bunch of other basic fallacies of the show... no programs have tapering of residents anymore. So, if you apply to surgery and match, you do not have to compete with the other residents in order to advance to the next year. Everyone in advances to the finish, unless you applied and matched at only an internship position. Residents also don't work 48 hrs straight, and all the interns certainly don't take call together!

 

[Pox in a box]

Grey's Anatomy.

 

[Malftap]

Neurosurgery is not 7 years. No residency is 7 years. However, Neurosurgery and the combined tract to Plastic Surgery are the longest residencies which are both 6 years. Combined EM/IM/Critical Care is also 6 years.

The only fields that require 7 years of training are subspecialties which require residency and then fellowship such as CT surgery, Interventional Cardiology, Peds Surgery, etc.

Ok you are splitting hairs. Technically most neurosurgery programs are 1+6 programs (7yrs total) with the few programs that are 1+5 (6 yrs total). Are all seven year spent in neurosurgery...no....but for us that are in a seven year program we won't get out until the seven years are up.

 

[simoin]

In Grey's Anatomy, they are all apparently Interns in a surgical residency program that will last 7 years. So, what specialty are they training for? Neurosurgery is 7 years...is that the only one that would fit the bill? I can't imagine some of them as neurosurgeons...

though most gen surg programs are 5 years, some are 7 due to 2 mandatory years of research. i know UCLA is and I think UW is too, which is where the show takes place. The combined nuerosurg programs are 6 but that is relativley new and most end up being 9 just like CT and peds surg because everyone does 2 years of research before fellowship. and we though med school was long!!

the most factualy incorrect part are the attendings who do everything!!! a little g.surg, some neuro surg, hey and why not some pediatric CT surg too while im at it. these guys are amazing!!! at least they dont do there own lab work like in house.

its why TV is better than real life
class of 2006

 

[Pox in a box]

though most gen surg programs are 5 years, some are 7 due to 2 mandatory years of research. i know UCLA is and I think UW is too, which is where the show takes place. The combined nuerosurg programs are 6 but that is relativley new and most end up being 9 just like CT and peds surg because everyone does 2 years of research before fellowship. and we though med school was long!!

the most factualy incorrect part are the attendings who do everything!!! a little g.surg, some neuro surg, hey and why not some pediatric CT surg too while im at it. these guys are amazing!!! at least they dont do there own lab work like in house.

its why TV is better than real life
class of 2006

I'm looking for the thread on "Grey's Anatomy." I must have clicked the wrong post.

 

[Febrifuge]

To tell you the truth, as a female resident I get annoyed when someone calls me a nurse. It's not because I think I am superior or more important than nurses -- it's just that we have different jobs with different responsibilities. What bothers me about it is that when I go to see a patient to do an admission/consult/discuss treatment plan, etc, the patient will see me and say something like "oh good, the nurse is here..."

I feel ya. And for what it's worth, I'm on the other side and it bugs me when people think I'm the doctor. Avatar aside, I'm a guy, I'm about the same age as the senior residents where I work... and I'm a tech! I'm the only one in the team wearing in my particular color of scrubs. Maybe that makes 'em think I'm special in a good way...?

It just chaps my chips when I'm standing there next to a slightly younger, female woman person with 4 years of med school plus almost 3 years of residency over and above my lil' well-meaning, basics-knowing, pre-med EMT ass, and the patient assumes I'm the doctor. I consider those "teaching moments," and I gently make it clear that she is the boss.

 

[dinesh]

So what's the hierarchy about?
Attending>Resident>intern?:S

 

[Jalopycat]

Okay so getting back to Grey's Anatomy. Did anyone notice that when all the eager interns arrive at the hospital in the morning it's daylight? Where I am, we call that "2 hours late"!

And what's up with interns "being invited" to scrub in and hold the retractors? That's an MS3's job. The interns I've seen participate in the surgery and close the wound! These interns don't do anything but goon each other and complain.

Oh yeah, and getting called a nurse is better than being called a nurse's assistant!

 

[TommyGunn04]

though most gen surg programs are 5 years, some are 7 due to 2 mandatory years of research.

Bingo! A number of the "top" general surgery programs have 2 mandatory years of research. Some of my classmates who are headed towards general surgery keep saying there are 4 such programs that are 7 years long. I know that Duke is one of them, and I think Hopkins and Harvard are as well, but I can't remember the other one.

 

[rotatores]

Okay so getting back to Grey's Anatomy. Did anyone notice that when all the eager interns arrive at the hospital in the morning it's daylight? Where I am, we call that "2 hours late"!

Very true...the only interns I know that show up after day light are psych interns.

I think one of my favorite moments was when the attending asked a group of interns the major causes of post op fever...they were all scratching their heads except the one and only Dr. Grey...who responded with "Wind,Water,Wound, Walking, and Wonder drugs...I'm pretty sure every intern not to mention every MS3 knows this after about 2 days into a surgery rotation.

Rotatores
USUHS 2006

 

[Annoyances]

Very true...the only interns I know that show up after day light are psych interns.

I think one of my favorite moments was when the attending asked a group of interns the major causes of post op fever...they were all scratching their heads except the one and only Dr. Grey...who responded with "Wind,Water,Wound, Walking, and Wonder drugs...I'm pretty sure every intern not to mention every MS3 knows this after about 2 days into a surgery rotation.

Rotatores
USUHS 2006

True but then you forget it during fourth year lol

 

[artemis]

I feel ya. And for what it's worth, I'm on the other side and it bugs me when people think I'm the doctor. Avatar aside, I'm a guy, I'm about the same age as the senior residents where I work... and I'm a tech! I'm the only one in the team wearing in my particular color of scrubs. Maybe that makes 'em think I'm special in a good way...?

It just chaps my chips when I'm standing there next to a slightly younger, female woman person with 4 years of med school plus almost 3 years of residency over and above my lil' well-meaning, basics-knowing, pre-med EMT ass, and the patient assumes I'm the doctor. I consider those "teaching moments," and I gently make it clear that she is the boss.

Nothing against nurses at all, they are critical to medicine, but it's hard not to get annoyed when every single time, and I mean EVERY time i get asked what I do and I tell them I'm in medical school, they're like "oh, so you're gonna be a nurse?" simply because I'm a female. And then they assume whatever random guy i am with is going to be a doctor, simply because he's a man

 

[lilmo]

Nothing against nurses at all, they are critical to medicine, but it's hard not to get annoyed when every single time, and I mean EVERY time i get asked what I do and I tell them I'm in medical school, they're like "oh, so you're gonna be a nurse?" simply because I'm a female. And then they assume whatever random guy i am with is going to be a doctor, simply because he's a man

i hear you. i've gotten so annoyed with people assuming i'm going into nursing, that i've started telling them i'm going into proctology. that usually changes the subject pretty fast.

 

[jonathani1]

On the mistaken identity theme, I have been cut both ways by the knife:

I'm a software engineer volunteering in the lowly arena of patient transporter in a private hospital. Because I'm a 'special project' volunteer, initially I did not even get to wear the color scrubs worn by the other transporters.

Not that it has hurt me at all. I had an elderly dialysis patient remark to the nurse that the hospital had employed some really cute young doctors. The nurse didn't know what she was alluding to. A few minutes later after I had transported the woman to her room, a nurse came up to me and asked me what medications she was to give to the lady

On another occasion I helped an old man coming to visit his wife to her room. I'd never seen the patient before. After helping the man into a chair, I waved to them both, and said as I left the room: "see you later" -- expecting to transport the old man back to the lobby. The lady's angry reply: "yes, you'll see us later -- in court!" Some doctor or nurse must have really ticked the woman off, and I, the lowly volunteer carried the brunt of it.

 

[fourthyearmed]

Nothing against nurses at all, they are critical to medicine, but it's hard not to get annoyed when every single time, and I mean EVERY time i get asked what I do and I tell them I'm in medical school, they're like "oh, so you're gonna be a nurse?" simply because I'm a female. And then they assume whatever random guy i am with is going to be a doctor, simply because he's a man

I get that too and I HATE it!

 

[WVmed]

Has anyone watched the new show on ABC, Grey's Anatomy? I watched it for the first time yesterday and loved it. I believe it's going to be on every Sunday at 10pm.

The only thing I was confused about is that the main characters are interns. Their boss is a resident. Her boss is the attending, who is gunning for the chief resident position. It seems to me like the work the interns do on the show is more like what you'd be doing during year 3-4 of med school.

My question is this: how exactly does the hospital heirarchy work? Did the show get it wrong, or was I just confuseled?

I really didn't like the characters, because I could not relate to any of the personalities. Even the main character was kind of lifeless to me, but the environment and work they do seems moderately realistic I guess. Hospitals are always full of tension...

 

[badgergirl]

You know, I don't care that the show isn't accurate all the time... half the fun is pointing out where things are wrong and commenting on how unreal it is! My friends and I do the same things with ER. I watch these shows for the drama and to see if I can follow what's going on as an M2, not because they depict reality. Maybe next year once I get into rotations I'll lose interest, but for now they're just fun.

As for being called a nurse, I don't really mind all the time. I think it's kind of funny. I know what I'm there for, I clarify myself with the patients if I have to, but it's pointless to get upset.

 

[waterski232002]

I watch these shows for the drama and to see if I can follow what's going on as an M2, not because they depict reality. Maybe next year once I get into rotations I'll lose interest, but for now they're just fun.

I think you're right about losing interest once you hit 3rd year! I used to watch ER, and "Trauma... Life in the ER" during college and the first 2 years of med school... as soon as 3rd year hit, everything about a hospital started to annoy me! I couldn't run far enough away from it...