Is ‘The Pitt’ accurate? Medical experts weigh in
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What makes 'The Pitt' stand out among medical dramas?
You're listening to Shortwave from NPR. Hey, Shortwavers. Regina Barber here with Michael Ruprecht. He's the Stanford Global Health Media Fellow embedded with us here at NPR. Hey, Michael.
Hey, Gina.
Michael, welcome to the show. I hear you are bringing us a story about one of my favorite things, TV.
Yeah, it's a medical drama. Awesome. But can I admit something to you, Gina?
Definitely.
I'm not a huge fan of medical dramas because I'm a med student in real life. I'm studying to become a doctor, and I feel like most medical dramas like ER or House, they aren't super accurate. House, really? Yeah.
Yeah.
But last year, all of my medical school friends, literally all of them were talking about this one show. And they told me that this one was different. This one, like I had to watch it. It's called The Pit.
Yeah, I just started watching that one. It's the one about a fictional emergency room in a hospital in Pittsburgh, right?
Yeah. Season one came out last year and the show just won two Golden Globes, including the prize for best TV drama.
Yeah, I thought it was a really cool concept that each episode is a single hour of a 15 hour shift. So it's like one season is one day.
Yeah, you know, it's pretty fast-paced, and that means there's no time for deeply romantic subplots or even the sometimes far-fetched storylines that usually dominate those other medical dramas.
The Pit is by far the most medically accurate show that I think has ever been created. And I'm not the only one to share that opinion. I hear that a lot from my colleagues. That's Dr. Alok Patel.
He's a pediatrician at Stanford Medicine Children's Health. And he's obviously a fan of the show.
Yeah. I mean, I'm a fan, too. I'm not in the medical field. I'm a different kind of doctor. But I found it really resonated with me, like especially the way they portray political division and mistrust in science, which we've definitely talked about in shortwave.
Why are health care workers drawn to 'The Pitt'?
Yeah, totally. Not to mention even the corporatization of healthcare. On the whole, it's pretty realistic.
Patients, they check in for registration here. A nurse eyeballs them, makes sure they're not dying. If not, they're moved to one of two triage rooms for vitals and a quick chair exam where you can go to labs and your x-rays. And then they come back to the waiting room until bed opens up. Is it always this busy?
Uh, no. It gets a lot busier. And the new season, it just started. Michael, I heard you got to watch it early.
Yeah, Gina, it was so cool. And the show's new season is streaming on HBO Max now. So we're here to discuss whether it really holds up to the last one.
Today on the show, we dive headfirst into the pit, the medical drama that's breaking barriers on how hospitals are portrayed and why health care workers are obsessed with it.
Plus, a sneak peek at what season two has in store from AI to misinformation and the realities of health care insurance.
You're listening to Shortwave, the science podcast from NPR. Okay, Michael, we're going to dive into season two of The Pit, but before we do that, let's get a quick recap of season one.
Totally. So the first season centers on the main character and veteran attending physician, Dr. Michael Robinovich, also known as Dr. Robbie. He's played by Noah Wiley.
Okay, I remember him from ER, but what's an attending physician?
Yeah, that can get pretty confusing. So attendings are doctors who have finished years of training, and they manage the students, residents, and fellows on their teams. They're basically the boss, just like Dr. Robbie is the boss in the pit. Plus his right-hand man, uh, woman. That's the charge nurse.
This makes sense to me. You got your attending and the charge nurse. They go hand in hand. It's the blonde lady that I remember. But you had mentioned, you know, med students, fellows, residents. What do those terms all mean? Like, who are these people?
Yeah, totally, Gina. It's a lot to keep track of. So let's start with med students. That's me. I'm in my fourth year, and med students typically start working in the hospital in their third year of school.
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