[News] TV medical dramas show viewers the wrong response

[Birdbomb]

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUST...rpc=22&sp=true

NEW YORK (Reuters Life!) - Medical teams from "ER" or "House" may race to respond to a seizure but nearly half of the time the TV doctors and nurses do the wrong thing, according to a Canadian study.
Lifestyle
Researchers from Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, screened the popular medical dramas "Grey's Anatomy," "House," "Private Practice" and "ER" to see if TV medical dramas were helping to educate the public about first aid and seizures.
The researchers found in 327 episodes screened, 59 seizures occurred. Fifty-one seizures took place in a hospital. Nearly all first aid was performed by nurses or doctors.
But the study found inappropriate practices such as holding the person down, trying to stop involuntary movements or putting something in the person's mouth, occurred in 25 cases, or nearly 46 percent of the incidents.
First aid management was shown appropriately in 17 seizures, or about 29 percent, and appropriateness of first aid could not be determined in 15 incidents, or 25 percent, according to the study released Sunday.
Researcher Andrew Moeller said television dramas were potentially a powerful method of educating the public so it was a concern to find that TV shows inaccurately showed seizure management half the time.
"People with epilepsy should lobby the television industry to adhere to guidelines for first aid management of seizures," Moeller said in a statement.
The study is to be presented at the American Academy of Neurology's Annual Meeting in Toronto in April.

HA! In your face House!

[Nakamova]

Those shows influence a lot of people. It would great if they showed the correct response to a seizure.

[imwithcoco]

Awesome job! I hope something gets done about this because I have noticed this very problem before. Too bad most people are educated through primetime t.v. these days.

Great job. Hope they move forward with this in Toronto.

[Bernard]

I know I've "yelled" at the TV before when watching House and everyone is rushing to restrain someone having a seizure. I know they are trying to make a scene more dramatic, but it really spoils my ability to enjoy the show.

[Rae1889]

Agreed Bernard! I have yelled and did the "oh come on!" to the television so many times. Not just with seizures, but with anything that I notice they are doing wrong medically. It seems these tv people don't do their home work at all. And it irks me to high heaven.

Chad gates watching movies and tv with me because I pick it apart and get mad at unrealistic scenarios. Like CPR. How they will do it wrong, or how everytime they do it on a main character, the character is brought back to life. CPR gives only a 1% chance of restarting a heart after its stopped with out a defibrilator. Plus when someone is brought back, nine times out of ten they throw up, and or pee their pants. They never show that. You also can't just get up and walk around 3 seconds after.

[Bernard]

Somewhat related and totally hilarious...

[Rae1889]

HA HA HA. that's great. I like the little speech bubble added!

[Crystal11]

As a blind and hearing impaired person, with Epilepsy, I have noticed many times that TV shows portrait something the wrong way. Sometimes it's over exaggerated. I can remember someone telling me about a movie about two blind people living together. They were talking about how there were feeling their way around a room- becoming disoriented every five seconds, and seeming to be as needy as possible although they were adults with blindness for a long time.
Most people don't realize that most blind or hard of hearing or deaf people- often don't have a total loss of their sense.
I am blind and hard of hearing- or deaf-blind by definition. But I am not totally deaf or blind. I have residual hearing and vision but without adaptive aids, neither would allow me to function with the way they are unaided.
Most people, even in high school would say things like: "When you work in your studio writing music, do you sit on the speaker to feel the vibrations?" or "How can you do that if you can't see it.?"
Now those are good questions to ask- but when it turns into making fun of someone- its very strange and makes people feel uncomfortable. Some people think blindness or deafness or epilepsy causes the same set of symptoms the same way for everyone.
We definitely have modifications but we don't walk around totally disoriented in our own apartment, or ask people to describe every little thing, or go sighted-guide and not rely on our orientation and mobility skills "O&M" & using our cane or my guide dog Umbro.
Most people see a guide dog on TV and think the person is totally blind-
But most people with a guide dog have some small percentage of residual vision- like I do.
Not all people with deafness are totally deaf- most of us wear hearing aids, uses sign language, speech or both, and are able to function.

Sometimes I wish people would understand a little more about disabilities- weather epilepsy, deafness or blindness or many others. Usually its those that have been around it, work with clients or patients with disabilities or those living with someone with a disability that truly understand.

Maybe one day, one day most of the population will have a better understanding, care and consideration.
TV portraying things dramatically or harshly surely doesn't help.

Everyone take care,
Crystal and her guide, Umbro

[Shelley]

I saw an episode of 'House' where a young woman was having seizures due to eclampsia. She was being treated correctly with magnesium, until 'House' came along and insisted on a lobotomy.
If that is the response for eclampsia, a person with epilepsy will definitely be treated incorrectly.
The last medical show I watched was St. Elsewhere.
I won't watch today's sensationalized 'medical' dramas.

[Inaara]

Agreed Bernard! I have yelled and did the "oh come on!" to the television so many times. Not just with seizures, but with anything that I notice they are doing wrong medically. It seems these tv people don't do their home work at all. And it irks me to high heaven.

Chad gates watching movies and tv with me because I pick it apart and get mad at unrealistic scenarios. Like CPR. How they will do it wrong, or how everytime they do it on a main character, the character is brought back to life. CPR gives only a 1% chance of restarting a heart after its stopped with out a defibrilator. Plus when someone is brought back, nine times out of ten they throw up, and or pee their pants. They never show that. You also can't just get up and walk around 3 seconds after.

Let's not forget that CPR, performed correctly, should break a few ribs. Having had busted ribs, yes, you can walk, but not comfortably..and you definitely will not sit bolt upright.

[Rae1889]

well, i mean that yeah you are capable of walking, but after being deprived for oxygen for so long, your head would be swimming for a while.