So you guys probably know I'm studying medicine and this always makes me a bit hesitant to read a book or watch a movie dealing with health related issues. Or at least where it's a huge part of the plot. Cause there are SO many inaccuracies there and I almost always spot them and it bothers me.
Why does this bother me? Well, I'm living and breathing this stuff sometimes 50-60 (and sometimes more) hours a week and if you can manage to research whole time periods as an author/movie/TV producer you can't tell me you can't research a disease. It sometimes seems a bit sloppy to me.
I always annoy people around me with my shouting of various forms of: 'that SO doesn't happen like that'...
Some basic examples of what has bothered me and basic stuff:
*If you're a doctor, that doesn't mean you know EVERYTHING about EVERY specialty. I mean, really, I want to be a GP, that doesn't mean I will know how to do complex surgeries. Especially not by myself.
*Not all brilliant doctors are jackasses:
I think pretty much everyone knows the character this man plays. Med School isn't very accepting of this kind of behaviour. Not even if you're a genius.
*You don't take X-rays of a head to see if there's infarction/bleeding/tumors etc. It's a CT or MRI, X-rays are for bones.
*On the same note: I read a book recently in which they checked for ligament/meniscus damage with an X-ray of the knee. You can't see those on an X-ray.
*If you're mortally wounded and will die within seconds, you usually don't have time/strength to do anything meaningful in said seconds.
*If while making love the man pulls out before the finish line so to speak, the woman can still get pregnant (this annoys me in historical romance).
*On the pregnancy theme: if it's a woman's first time giving birth, it takes hours for the baby to arrive from the first time you feel a contraction. Seriously, some take 24 hours (or even more). So the frantic screaming of 'THE BABY'S COMING' right after the water broke is a bit premature. Unless you're really lucky (but believe me, that doesn't happen a lot).
Ok, so I can't think of more examples at the moment though I'm sure I've rolled my eyes at other stuff and I can tell you more things that don't happen like they do in books/movies, but some of those have gruesome details that aren't very pleasant to discuss. I may in the future post more on this when I come across it.
So, have you ever come across anything medical-related that made you think 'wait, does that really happen like that?' or do you do the same thing when you come across stuff that's related to your line of work? Cause I'm positive mistakes aren't only made in my field ;)
This post made me laugh because it's just too true! I don't even know much about the medical field, but I do know that a lot of the stuff I read presents interesting inaccuracies like the ones you pointed out. ESPECIALLY historical romances (though I still love them!)
ReplyDeleteI love historical romances as well even if they do make me roll my eyes sometimes ;)
DeleteOh Daisy! I completely get you! Both my parents are chemists and I grew up in hospitals - I was a sickly kid and my grandma prone to hypochondria - so I know how some stuff works and sometimes I'm all "yeah, right!"
ReplyDeleteAnd in the historical romance? only three I've seen it addressed that the woman can get pregnant even if the guy pulls out - Mine Till Midnight, The Leopard Prince (heroine actually does get pregnant) and The Lost Duke of Wyndham. - but most 'characters' seem to think it's a fool proof method.
Oh, and modern medicine used in medieval times, I love when that happens, always makes me roll my eyes
Lol! I hadn't even thought of that last one!
DeleteNot only do the characters think it's a fool proof method, it also conveniently seems to work for them ;) Maybe the key is believing?
Haha I love this! I am a nursing student and sometimes I just want to scream, "No, that isn't right!"
ReplyDeleteI hate it when people are knocked unconscious for long periods of time and then wake up and are perfectly fine, with no thought of a concussion or other problems. I don't know a lot about medicine, so I might be wrong, but I think that if you're unconscious for hours at a time you aren't just going to wake up and be fine.
ReplyDeleteYou're absolutely right! I hadn't even thought of that one, but that never fails to annoy me! I mean, seriously, it usually takes a lot to get knocked unconscious (which is why it always amazes me that it happens so often in novels) and it usually doesn't last that long. If you're out for hours, you're not ready to get up anytime soon!
DeleteI agree on the historical romance part. It makes me laugh.. it also reminds me of the discussions on hymens at Smart Bitches and how inaccurate most depictions are.
ReplyDeleteAlso, And Then He Kissed Her was the first romance novel I read with a wide use of "red letters" Coincidentally, I just got the eBook for 99cents. :)
I haven't read that discussion, am going to check it out :)
DeleteAnd I'll have to look into getting my hands on And Then He Kissed Her! Should be interesting :)
Oh I love this post, it definitely gave me a bit of a giggle, I've noticed some of those things in too many books! Thanks for sharing your discussion this week, it's put a smile on my face!
ReplyDeleteHah, I so totally know what you mean, Daisy! The same thing bugs me for psychology. Like please, authors, don't confuse "psychotic" with "psychopathic"...TOTALLY different. And obsessive-compulsive disorder is a *separate* disorder from obsessive-compulsive personality disorder, despite the similarity in names. I could go on and on but I won't. Just wanted to say that I feel your pain! ;)
ReplyDeleteOMG the pull-out thing in historical romances bugs me too! Just once I would like to read a historical romance in which the pull-put method fails and the girly gets knocked up.
ReplyDeleteA great thing happened in one of the Outlander novels - a guy told a girl they'd do sexy stuff right after her period, because that's when she'll be the least fertile. And I mentally high-fived Diana Gabaldon for being accurate about ovulation cycles and such.
There was something else I was going to say... but I forget now, lol. But great topic! And now whenever medicine comes up in a novel, I'm going to think of you and ask you if it's accurate, lol.