From ABC's "Grey's Anatomy" to "General Hospital" to "ER", audiences are fascinated by physicians. But how much of what you watch on television or see in the movies is actually the truth?
Business Insider sat down with Jenna Reece, a fourth-year medical student at New York City-based Columbia University's College of Physicians and Surgeons, and Faiz Jiwani, a fourth-year medical student at Gainesville, Fla.-based University of Florida's College of Medicine, about their experiences in the medical industry and how those experiences are depicted in the media.
Here are six myths about physicians and medicine the media churns out, along with four surprising tropes it gets right.
1. Myth: Physicians fit into easy stereotypes. According to Ms. Reece, there are numerous stereotypes about physicians that are routinely presented on television: the old mentor, the idealistic young physician, the womanizer, etc. Those stereotypes are largely absent from the field in real life, Ms. Reece said. "When the physician and patient meet, they meet each other with a history of experiences," said Mr. Jiwani. " The patient already has some expectation of what the physician will be like." But because of the sheer volume of medical dramas for audiences to choose from, the overall effect of medical archetypes has lessened.
2. Myth: All physicians do is treat and diagnose patients. Medical dramas often fail to show the administrative burden physicians wade through on a daily basis. Desk-work doesn't make for compelling TV.
3. Myth: Medical culture is homogenous across the board. Ms. Reece claimed that few medical shows are able to accurately capture the medical culture that persists in a given field. She specially points to the 2015 film "Trainwreck," where actor Bill Hader portrays a quiet, soft-spoken orthopedic surgeon. "You couldn't be soft spoken," said Ms. Reece. "You'd be eaten alive. You wouldn't get into a residency program for orthopedic surgery if you didn't culturally fit in."
4. Myth: Hospitals are a great place to meet someone and fall in love. While romantic relationships can and do occur between physicians in real life, most physicians just don't have the time to have a discrete rendezvous in between shifts. Despite what's often portrayed on television, most medical teams aren't composed of young, attractive singles, according to the article.
5. Myth: Scrubs look good. According Ms. Reece, medical dramas get the scrubbing process totally wrong. "When you scrub into a surgery, it looks pretty ridiculous," said Ms. Reece. "You look like you're in a really weird space suit."
6. Myth: Physicians are magicians. There's a reason it takes an average of 14 years to become a physician ─ medicine isn't an easy thing to understand. "In media, science is so often portrayed as magic," said Ms. Reece. "And medicine is so often portrayed as magic. It can fix anything." The way it's portrayed on television may cause individuals to rely on medical "cures" and intervention to treat illnesses rather than focusing on preventative methods to promote healthy living, said Mr. Jiwani. "What bothers me about that is you have the hero physician and then some unidentifiable patient," said Mr. Jiwani. "There's this clear depiction of the physician carrying all the agency in that scenario. This is prevalent throughout depictions of physicians throughout media. It's just inaccurate."
7. Truth: It's gory. "Before I went to medical school, I totally thought [surgery depictions] must be fake. Especially the super fake-looking stuff — the spurting, Monty Python-style blood during surgery. I thought it was an exaggeration. You're like, why are they showing that? The thing is, that's not an exaggeration. It actually spurts, Monty-Python style."
8. Truth: Physicians do make a lot of money. The average salary for a primary care physician in 2015 was roughly $195,000. The average specialist made about $284,000, according to the article.
9. Truth: Physicians have intense schedules. While medical dramas often show the majority of the action taking place in the hospital, the depiction isn't that far from the truth. About a quarter of physicians reported working between 61 and 80 hours a week in 2014, according to the American Medical Association.
10. Truth: Hospitals provide a good backdrop for stories. According to Ms. Reece, medical drams function similarly to shows set in high schools ─ the very structure lends itself to a complete plot, formula and character motivation all at once. Hospitals and medical issues are also incredibly relatable because nearly everyone has had some sort of interaction with a physician or has dealt with an illness at one time or another in their lives. "It's all there and it's easy fodder for drama and stories," said Mr. Jiwani.