Grey’s Anatomy Season 11 will be back on September 25th, 2014. Grey’s addicts from all over the country having been anxiously waiting for the upcoming season and all the drama that comes with it.
Since the drama somewhat twists the medical portion of the show, surveys between residents and physicians have been conducted on whether Grey’s is a good depiction of reality. A majority has said that the medicine is somewhat close but the entertainment portion of the show is completely unrealistic. Here’s what some members of the Penn State Pre-medicine Society think of some of the scenarios on Grey’s:
“In one of the very first episodes on Grey’s Anatomy, a man falls down the stairs with a nail gun causing him to accidentally shoot himself. When he comes into the hospital nine nails are in his head and he is completely conscious. How would you deal with this situation?” (No Man’s Land, Season 1 Episode 4)
“I would freak out!” Lauren Solinsky said, a sophomore majoring in Biology and Nutrition.
“I would handle it like a real surgeon,” Andre Ramos assuredly replies. Andre is a sophomore and is majoring in Premedicine.
“Also in Season One, a woman lets her tumor grow to 70 lbs. It takes 14 hours to operate. Do you believe this would ever happen?” (If Tomorrow Never Comes, Season 1 Episode 6)
“First of all, who lets their tumor grow to 70 lbs?” Katie Klodowski questioned. She is a freshman studying Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.
“That surgery only took 14 hours?” responded Nichelle Pucklavage. Nichelle is also a freshman and majoring in Biomedical Engineering
“On Grey’s Anatomy, it seems like everyone sleeps with a co-worker. So does hospital staff actually have sex in the on-call rooms?”
37.5% of responses from the Pre-medicine Society said ‘Yes’.
Exactly 50% of responses said ‘No’.
And 12.5% said ‘Gross! I actually plan on sleeping’.
“During the 3rd Season, a pair of conjoint, adult twins decide to go through with separation surgery because one twin is engaged to a woman. The other is in love with his twin’s fiancé. The surgery is extremely risky and takes 22 surgeons to take apart the conjoined twins. What are your thoughts on this situation?” (Don’t Stand So Close To Me, Season 3 Episode 10)
“How do they go on dates…” said Mike Miller, a freshman and a Biobehavioral Health major.
“I can’t wait to separate conjoined twins!” Svanjita Berry eagerly responded. Svanjita is a freshman and a Pre-medicine major.
“Did they have functional body parts after the surgery?” Lauren asked.
“George O’Malley, an intern at Seattle Grace Hospital, performs heart surgery in an elevator during a power outage. How early in your residency would you be able to perform heart surgery?” (Bring the Pain, Season 2 Episode 14)
12.5% of the responses said during the ‘3rd Year’ of residency
37.5% said during their ‘4th Year’
Another 12.5% said they would perform heart surgery their ‘5th Year’.
And 37.5% of responses said ‘Never in a million years!’
“A pregnant Jane Doe, with severe memory loss is found during the ferry boat accident. She seduces Alex Karev during her lengthy hospital visit and believes she is pregnant with his child (which is a hallucination). Bottom line she has borderline personality disorder. Any thoughts?” (Walk on Water, Season 3 Episode 15 to Freedom Part 2, Season 4 Episode 17)
“She should receive mental health treatment to help herself,” Nichelle responds.
“Another reason doctors should not get involved with patients!” said Paige Witkowski, a freshman majoring in Biology.
“There has to be some kind of law against this…right?” Katie exclaims. We assume she is talking about the inappropriate doctor-patient relationship.
“An unexploded bomb is lodged in a patient’s chest. Meredith Grey, an intern and the main character, ends up holding the device inside the body. If you were Meredith, what would you do?” (It’s the End of the World, Season 2 Episode 16 to As We Know It, Season 2 Episode 17)
“First off, that would never happen…” Mike seems pretty sure of this.
“Honestly, I would pee myself,” Svanjita replies.
“I really hope the bomb squad is a gift from God,” Paige responded.
“And lastly, the interns on Grey’s always seem to be charming the attendings. Would you fall in love with your attending?”
Exactly 50% of the responses said ‘It was meant to be.’
The other 50% responded with a flat out ‘No’.
According to the responses and conversations with the Penn State Pre-medicine Society, Grey’s is not close to the members’ perceived reality. If you haven’t watched all of Season 10 yet, there is a quick, little synopsis (on Wikipedia) to bring you up to speed for the season 11 return on ABC. So remember to tune in this Thursday to watch McDreamy (Derek Shepherd) save lives.
Photo credit: Wikipedia
