How close to the truth is the Vital Signs??

I was saying to my friend the other day (she loves Vital Signs), that like most things in TV, it's glammed up a bit.

Surely this programme is giving out the wrong message to younger students thinking of a career in medicine, that if you don't have a family, you don't have a job, you'll sail through med school.

So how close to the truth is it?

Reply 1

Pippin

ITV are notorious for the poor research they put into their original drama but you can forgive them slightly as they do have to make a watchable TV program: I find the prospect of medical school insanely exciting but i bet if they showed a program about the slog that it is the real addmissions process and the first year which actually consists of far less clincal stuff like patient contact that the main character appears to have, then most viewers wouldnt be interested.
I'd agree with you that it might be sending the wrong message to some people but if any prospective med student did proper research into it, it would soon become abundantly clear that the program is pretty far from the truth and at the end of the day only the people who do bother to do that research will end up with the places.

Reply 2

alispam

It does seem a bit odd, in their first week they're wondering around hospitals, we've never seen them in a lecture room. Also its only a 5 year course without science Alevels (or in this case any Alevels) it should be six year surely?? I wouldn't want a trainee doctor near me who hadn't done any Alevel science and appartently hadn't been to a science lecture to catch up....

apart from that its brill :biggrin:

Reply 3

Fluffy

Nothing like it!

I mean - first years with that much clinical exposure. Just doesn't happen. Then again, watching someone sitting in lectures would be very boring!!!

Reply 4

Leisure17

I don't know Vital Signs, but I can tell you that ER (Emergency Room) is very close to the real thing, apart from the compressions they do when doing BLS and some of the things are typically American.
But the workload, the crazy patients, the niggling and fights, the love stories and the psychological pressure are very near the real thing. At least they are near to what I and a lot of my collegues experience.

Reply 5

RetiredAccount89

Leisure17

whats wrong with their compressions? the lastest one i saw one nurse was doing it wrong an the Kovach guy corrected her. he was spot on.
remember different countries use different standards with regards to timing. UK was 15.2 until recently, now its gone to 30.2.
as for the depth, well, don't think theres a rescue anne under the covers :wink:

i don't like how in holby city the med students seem to do some procedures much more PRHO/SHO level.

besides which, why are there no SHOs or pre-regs on the wards...
just consultants and Sprs...

Reply 6

Leisure17

whats wrong with their compressions?

Usually - not always - not fast enough and not deep enough, apart from not getting into a position where they can be administered more easily (i.e. letting the bed down) plus they don't put a board under the patient. This is all ok, if you only have to do a few compressions and the patient comes round, but not when you are at it for 30 min.

the lastest one i saw one nurse was doing it wrong an the Kovach guy corrected her. he was spot on.

I haven't seen that one yet, but I think the UK is further on than Germany.

remember different countries use different standards with regards to timing. UK was 15.2 until recently, now its gone to 30.2.

We are recommended to use 30:2 now here as well, but it is still just a recommendation and not a must. We have a different system here all together: the especially trained doctor goes out with the paramedics (car, ambulance or helicopter) and does the initial treatment right on the spot. Once the patient is stable they get brought into hospital.

Reply 7

Angelica

Leisure17

We have a different system here all together: the especially trained doctor goes out with the paramedics (car, ambulance or helicopter) and does the initial treatment right on the spot. Once the patient is stable they get brought into hospital.

If I remember correctly, France do a similar thing.

emma_310

At the end of the day, the priority of the producers is entertainment and not accuracy. It would be boring to have the students is lecturers all the time, or studying, even if it would actually reflect the realities of being a first year medic.

I can see what you mean about sending out the wrong message. However, I would hope that most applicants would take the time to try to find out what it was really like, and not just depend on TV programmes to paint a picture.

Reply 8

Fluffy

I repeat again - it is nothing like it!!! the program made it look easy to get in, etc. It's not, it also painted an unrealistic sketch of life at medical school, etc.

BUT the programme wasn't about medics - that was just the vessel, and although it was nothing like medicine (and I'm sure St Georges rue the day they allowed ITV to make them over as 'St Annes', as I'm sure completely unqualified people will now approach them re: GAMSAT and their programmes, meaning that they waste a lot of man power on answering such requests for information), I still watched it and enjoyed it!!!

I'm guessing that there won't be a 2nd series though...

Reply 9

medic_rules

I certainly hope that this is the last series. People have been given a wrong perception on how you can get into Medicine and I think that Vital Signs has done the medical profession alot of harm, patient confidentiality breached, going on ward unsupervised arghhhhh I could rant for ever.

It's been a load of crap from start to finish