A post from Kelli–
It’s probably not a big surprise that I enjoy watching medical shows. Obviously my favorites tend to be much more towards realistic. Some of my favorites were Boston Med, New York Med, and Boston EMS. The premis of the shows is that you pretty much shadow a nurse or ambulance crew and get an inside look at the kinds of things that they deal with in large trauma settings. The EMS show follows an ambulance crew while responding to 911 calls. Some are actual emergencies while others aren’t so much.
I dont really like ones like Untold Stoies of the ER. This one is completely staged and pretty horrid. You can tell that everything is completely embellished. The voice overs that narrate the show pretty much just repeat what the main characters have already said. Those I’m definitely not a fan of.
I’ve always enjoyed Greys Anatomy, but over the past few seasons, I feel like they’re taking any possible idea and using it. And if you’ve been watching lately you know that they’ve killed off lots of main characters. It also seems that they are making a few more errors like shocking an unshockable rhythm and pronouncing very common medication names incorrectly. Any more, I watch it more for something to do and because I’ve watched it so long.
My favorite though, so far anyways, has been ER. When I was in nursing school, we watched a short segment about a 17 year old who had cystic fibrosis. He requested to be a DNR and did not want to be intubated. When he was admitted, he lied to staff saying that he was over the age of 18, thus responsible for making his own medical decisions. They ended up calling his mom as an emergency contact and finding out that he was under 18 and that she wanted him intubated. It showed the struggle between what the law is and individual morals and wishes. From then on, I have been trying to watch old reruns because it seemed like it was less for drama and more for showing medical techniques and showcasing information about different diseases.
You can imagine my surprise when one day I turned on my Hulu and there was ER! I was so excited that I called mom and told her about it. She said–“Oh we used to watch that one after we would put you guys to bed at night.” It was a moment where you realize that your parents are actually people and had a life besides you too.
One of the things that I’ve found interesting is the advances in medication that have happened since the show first started to now. There have also been a few instances where treatments and things are stretched a little bit with some pretty heroic outcomes, but for the most part, people still die and things don’t always turn out for the best. I like this because that’s what medicine actually is. The further along that I get in the seasons, theyve been sneaking in more and more drama, who’s sleeping with who, and things that don’t really seem overly relevant to the storyline, but it’s a TV drama. And it’s still my favorite.
So–Do you have any medical dramas or shows that you like that you think I would? Bonus if you know they are on Netflix or Hulu…because I don’t have regular TV.
I have been watching on Hulu also. I was a fan from the beginning. I am a retired nurse. I agree with you. The DNR episode made me think it all over again. Grey’s anatomy has declined for me. My son who is a doctor laughed when I asked him about all the sex in the break rooms!! He said no.
ER was always a big favorite for me. I worked in a hospital putting myself through college. I wasn’t a medical person, I handled records back when they were actual paper and spent some time in the ER managing things and certainly read a ton of those charts looking for records needing completion. I think the drama came in as people liked the characters and really, the medical cases have more of the same rather than rare and intriguing situations in real life.
Anybody remember Marcus Welch, MD, Ben Casey or Dr Kildare??? Way before your time, Kelli!
I am re-watching Call the Midwife on Netflix. It’s a BBC show and quite enjoyable.
I have loved Call the Midwife on Netflix and The Good Doctor but that was on network TV (ABC).
Loved st elsewhere. On Hulu. Chicago hope. Premiered same year as ER. And love the good doctor. Hulu or Netflix?
The Good Doctor is a show that started last year about an autistic doctor. It’s excellent and shows not only patient struggles, but doctor’s struggles, as well.
The Resident was also new last year and very good. It may not be as accurate as it could be – the residents seem to be doing most of the work.
9-1-1 is a show from the angle of the dispatcher and firemen, so not as much medical focus.
I’d be interested if you try any of them.
HOUSE. Crazy but brilliant!
Hi, in England we have call the midwife, Casualty. They’re both worth a watch if you can get them
My favorite is Call the Midwife. I used to watch greys anatomy but it has lost my interest. St. Elsewhere was quite the adventure….are there any reruns of that?
As much as I love Greys Anatomy and MANY other medical shows. I HATE that they don’t put nurses into ANY of the dialog, unless the Dr is having sex w her….. No male nurses, nurses roll the Emergency cart into the room…. that’s it! From one Nurse to another.
I agree about Grey’s Anatomy. Gone way downhill but I’ve watched it for so long that I just keep watching it. Don’t even know who most of the people are anymore. And Real Stories Of The ER is, as you put it, horrid!
ER is my favorite. I watch it on cable because I don’t have Hulu. I’ve bought the first few seasons on DVD and hope to keep adding to my collection. I also own every season of House. I loved the NY Med, and others you mentioned. I would love to watch Chicago Hope again that someone mentioned but don’t remember exactly how good it was. Is that on Hulu or Netflix? I do get Netflix. And would consider getting Hulu if Chicago Hope is on there.
One that has not been mentioned yet is Trauma: Life In The ER. It is on cable on Discovery Health and sometimes on TLC. It is a real world following of the ER. I don’t know if that’s on your stations but certainly worth keeping an eye out for!
It’s Marcus Welby, not Welsh. Guess I’m older than you!
I loved ER and watched all the episodes. House was also a great series that I also enjoyed.I didn’t watch Grey’s Anatomy so I can’t comment on that. I also enjoyed Code Black, but I think it is cancelled.
I am now watching Chicago Med and that is also a great show. The Resident is also very good.
I am a retired nurse and enjoy trying to figure out what the diagnosis is before it is determined by the doctors.
Er clearly better than greys. Much more realistic. Story lines go a few episodes but then they are gone. Besides who can resist George Clooney. Note, in the Massachusetts area the Comcast service shows ER on the Pop Channel. Saturday’s always have at least six episodes.
The original McDreamy (Noah Wyle). McSteamy (George Clooney) and Anthony Edwards (McHunky).
ER is classic and by far the best watch. St Elsewhere and Chicago Hope good too as is Code Black
You are obviously much younger than I am. I watched ER while at Brown School of Medicine, I went into research and eventually admin. Grey’s Anatomy is something I started watching lately. It makes me laugh. While working I got a MRSA infection and lost my stomach muscles after mutiple surgeries. I saw the abdominal transplant episode and was like “where are my cadaver muscles?” My doctor and i laughed and laughed. Chicago Hope and St. Elsewhere were classics. There are a number of British shows on Netflix. There was an awesome show called “The Knick” on Cinemax recently. Its worth finding. For what it’s worth I totally appreciate nurses.
Nightwatch on utube. A/E show of real life EMS runs in different cities! Short shows that don’t have a lot of blather. I like PD Live too. Gives a good perspective of what cops face everyday.
Maureen, the show was Marcus Selby, MD and starred Robert Young. Didn’t like that show too much, preferred Medical Center.
You should check out Code Black and the Night Shift. They were both good. Not sure if they’re on Netflix or Hulu yet but when they do come on just check them out.
You should check out
Nurse Jackie on Netflix has a different spin need to watch a few episodes to get in to it.