Before medical school, I watched medical shows.
I've spent years in the operating room as a surgeon and consumed tens of thousands of hours of television. I remember the excitement of watching ER and dreaming of my own career in medicine. I stopped watching medical television - even the reality shows - after I started training.
But as a surgeon, I simply can’t watch. It’s cringe.
The medical world portrayed in shows like House and The Good Doctor come across more like soap operas than reality. Besides, any doctor who behaved in the manner of House would most likely lose their license to practice medicine.
Here are 3 ways to make your medical show surgically authentic right now.
Show surgeons wielding scalpels with precision. Surgery is a precise craft, and we use every instrument as an extension of our hands. The proper handling of surgical instruments is vital. I've watched countless shows, and not one has managed to show a “surgeon” holding a knife or scissors correctly. Consult a surgeon to work with your actors for an hour on this.
Bring realism to the intensive care unit. Show unconscious patients or those with multiple trauma on ventilators with endotracheal tubes or tracheostomies. Don't take shortcuts with a simple mask. Also, tubes are designed to be mostly inside, not out. Consider cutting the tubes before taping them to your actors.
Take sterility seriously. Get scrubbing and dressing for surgery right. Portraying these critical moments correctly will give your show an edge.
As a surgeon and television enthusiast, I know how important it is to strike a balance between entertainment and authenticity. Collaborate with real surgeons like me and create medical scenes and shows to bring viewers to the edge of their seats, begging for more.