Grey Matters

Today we have a special treat! An actual fan-based blog suggestion. Here's the original request:

"I have an idea for your blog. I have been recently watching a lot of
gray's anatomy and i want to know if there are really that many hospital
romances that go on in real life and if it is surgeons, nurses, orderlies? etc. It seems a little ridiculous to me but i guess it makes for good television :)"

First, I have to forgive Valerie for the typo in her e-mail [Turnabout is fair play]. "Grey's Anatomy" is one of my favorite shows. Stephanie turned me on to it after the first season. I liked it so much, I traded E.R. for it... kind of like skiing after I learned to snowboard... I simply haven't gone back.

GAWDDAMMIT! BLOGGER ATE MY RESPONSE. I HAD JUST POSTED IT AND WAS PROOFREADING IT WHEN IT DELETED MOST OF THE MESSAGE. I COULD NOT GET IT BACK. AAAAARRRGH! I will re-type it after I finish a movie I want to watch while Stephanie is still awake.

OK, I'm back. Don't bother watching "I Think I Love My Wife." Even if you're a Chris Rock fan, this one sucks. Boring from start to finish.

So, back to my response. Before I answer the question directly, I want to say something about two shows in general. First, E.R. does a pretty good job about having the actors look like they know their way around a hospital. The actor's motions are consistent with how we really do things. A lot of their special effects and make up are top notch too. The problem with E.R. [things that would never really happen] is there are so many explosions and gunshots and stabbings etc within the E.R. itself that the hospital should have been shut down or it's security department shut down. Second, about Greys Anatomy: There are a couple of things about the show that really bug me. 1) It's supposed to take place in Seattle, and it's fairly obvious after having lived there that it doesn't. There is no such place as Seattle Grace Medical Center. I suppose for legal reasons, that's a necessary evil. 2) The other thing that really bugs me about the show is that you don't see any nurses anywhere unless they're screwing a doctor in a locker room. Believe it or not, nurses do not hang out in locker rooms waiting to screw doctors. They don't even do that in pornos. 3) On top of all that, they make it seem like residents and interns do all the work, when actually, it's nurses who run the show day to day. I mean, we can't do our job without doctors, but residents and interns (at least where I work) sure do learn an awful lot from us, not the other way around.

Now, on to the meat of your question [pun intended]. The hospital environment (by that, I mean ICUs, E.R.s, etc) lend themselves to complex human interactions. We work side by side for long hours through intense situations. That's a recipe for lots of interpersonal possibilities. Also, people on the outside don't really understand what we ACTUALLY do for a living. It's fast-paced and intense sometimes. I honestly think we see things that people just shouldn't see. So, a lot of times, it seems like nobody gets US but US. I think when you put people in that situation [college and the military are other examples that leap to mind], things are bound to happen eventually, just like if you put bugs in a petrie dish, they will grow.

I've only worked at two hospitals, so I can only speak for what I've seen at both places. Where I worked in Reno, it was kind of crazy like that. There were nurses sleeping with doctors, nurses sleeping with CNAs, nurses with other nurses, not to mention other departments like labarotory, respiratory therapy, etc. I know of two pregnancies out of wedlock, people leaving their S.O.s for other people, sexual harrassment charges being filed. It was kind of ridiculous. As I'm typing this, I am remembering crazy parties, barbecues, trips to the Tahoe nude beaches, insane Halloween parties and much much more. I knew of nurses working as strippers on the side. Orderlies fired for stealing and selling medical supplies (and getting caught and fired). The list goes on. I mean, television writers couldn't make this stuff up.

Where I work now, it's mostly people that are coupled up or have kids. Most of the drama comes from people who are either stupid, immature or single. I think that's the trifecta for drama. Usually, people with high drama in their lives fall into one of those categories. Most of the people I work with now are great. Most of the drama comes from personal differences, not necessarily the kind of drama on Grey's Anatomy.

So, either there isn't as much drama where I work now, or I simply pay less attention to it. But honestly, it's hard to miss when it's happening, so I think it just isn't happening. It's a great bunch, and I'm extremely happy. I've worked places before where people were gossipy and in your business and it sucks to have your reputation be at risk, especially if what's being spread around is far from the truth.

At any rate, there's enough truth in the stories on Grey's Anatomy that it makes for good drama. It may not take place at the pace it does on television, but I think there's enough truth to it that it seems legit (kind of like how stereotypes always have some thread of truth regardless of how ridiculous they are on the whole)

Thanks for the suggestion. Keep 'em coming.