BLOGS
There are a lot of medical shows on TV, especially this summer, with the recent debuts of Nurse Jackie, Royal Pains and Hawthorne. While the theme of most of these shows seems to be buck the system in order to get the job done, we wondered if we'd be brave enough to put our health care in the hands of any of the medical professionals that are currently on the airwaves. The answer is probably not. See our reasons below.
1. House (House)
House is undeniably a genius, but the people who work for him are much less so. His supposedly highly-acclaimed team (some of whom were vetted through a highly scientific process of numbering candidates and giving them ridiculous nicknames and making them compete for attention) spends each episode nearly killing the patient with two of their misdiagnoses before finally some random occurrence/conversation sparks a genius idea in House's mind and he comes up with a cure. We're not so sure that we'd like to be poked and prodded and poisoned for a chance to get healed.
2. Jackie (Nurse Jackie)
She's in a constant haze of Percocet and can be more than a little bit vindictive if you cross her. On the plus side, she's usually on the side of the patient, unless said patient is deemed not worthy by her standards, in which case, the patient should watch their wallets closely. And her healing powers have to be squeezed in between having sex with the hospital pharmacist who keeps her in pain pills, juggling her family life and dealing with the dopey doctor who inappropriately touches people when he gets nervous (needless to say, we will not be seeking his help any time soon). On the plus side, however, you might accidentally get a dose of some muscle relaxers mixed in with your coffee.
3. Dr. Huizenga (The Biggest Loser/Dance Your Ass Off)
This guy has carved a little niche for himself on shows about overweight folks, but he's pretty much Dr. Doom. He seems to have built a career on telling people that they are actually 20 years older than they think they are, and that they are on the brink of death... or at the very least, diabetes. He may be right, but that's not the kind of bedside manner we really want.
4. Christian Troy (Nip/Tuck)
He's a sought after plastic surgeon, but he pretty much sleeps with anything that walks. Need we remind you that he even slept with Rosie O'Donnell's Dawn Budge. So at best we'd end up with smooth skin and a great new rack, but at worst, we'd end up exposed to a host of venereal diseases. Those aren't the kinds of odds we like.
5. Meredith Grey (Grey's Anatomy)
There's a lot of questionable behavior going on at Seattle Grace (hence the reason the hospital's ranking slipped so much). George has been dubbed 007 for killing people, Izzie is wishy-washy about if she even wants to be a doctor (when she's even healthy) and gets overly attached to her patients. Then there's Meredith, who likely got this gig in the first place because of her mother's sterling record, and though she does occasionally save patients, when not whining about her life, she has been known to use a doll to prepare for surgery. Also, she had the college nickname of Death. Not sure we'd trust her with a scalpel.
6. J.D. Dorian (Scrubs)
We adore the antics of Turk and J.D., but these two spend way more time goofing around, talking to co-workers, making fun of interns, drinking coffee and coming up with crazy ideas than they do actually curing patients. Though if we had to pick between the two of them, we'd somehow trust Turk the surgeon, because he'd be less prone to daydreaming during our consultation.
7. Doctor Hank (Royal Pains)
This whole concierge doctor thing seems a little bit sketchy. Sure, he can spot a rare disease and treat you without the whole waiting in the ER for hours and hours thing, but some of his methods are a bit on the unconventional side... to say the least. Not to mention the whole practice is more than a little unsanitary, since their entire operation runs out of the back of his assistant's truck and most of his procedures are done on carpets.
8. Dr. Drew (Celebrity Rehab)
We know that Dr. Drew is an addiction specialist and all, but he really never seems to help anyone... at least not on Celebrity Rehab/Sober House. We're sure he's helped many a teenager learn how to properly avoid STDs doing Loveline. But his VH1 shows seem more like an excuse for these stars to stay famous, and for him to just keep them alive for the duration of their stay. If we've got an addiction problem, we'd rather handle it quietly in the good old Betty Ford clinic.
9. Toby Logan (The Listener)
This newbie paramedic spends more time as an amateur detective than he does on board an ambulance. He uses his ability to read minds to solve mysteries... and occasionally finds someone who needs medical assistance. He should consider altering his career path, because he shows very little interest in his actual job.
10. Christina Hawthorne (Hawthorne)
She spends most of her time fighting with doctors about how nurses are really better than doctors, and being distracted by her personal life. She's so frantically trying to avoid her own issues that she misses things like a staffer nearly killing a patient out of spite, or a homeless woman who is hemorrhaging right in front of her face. In general, we're praying we never end up at her hospital where nurses give hand jobs to injured soldiers, Michael Vartan is somehow Chief of Staff and brings lollipops into an OR, and guys wielding knives can get through security without hassle.
Dishonorable mention: Addison Montgomery (Private Practice)
Addison used to be one of the best surgeons around. She ruled at Seattle Grace, but she's gotten... soft since she moved to sunnier Southern California. Her patients seem to be an afterthought now, since she's busy flirting with other doctors, or patient's husbands, and trying to get all the good gossip around Oceanside Wellness. If she were her former badass surgeon self, we'd trust her implicitly, but this new Addison, we're a little wary about.
Other medical professionals currently wreaking havoc on the airwaves that you'd want to stay away from? Sound off below.
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His degree from "Hollywood Upstairs Medical College" notwithstanding, I'd have to avoid Dr. Nick Riviera.
"Hi, everybody!" "Inflammable means flammable?" "...connected to the wristwatch...uh oh."
The Simpsons' Dr. Nick has 'em all beat.
The medics on Survivor should be avoided at all costs, since they only ever tell you you're going to get worse and die.
Nurse Ratched from One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest anyone?!
Dr. Spaceman from 30 Rock. Nuff said.
um, that's a movie.
The only doctor I'd ever be glad to see is Dr. Beverly Crusher; with one swipe of a hand-held machine, you're cured!
Good call, Rob. She has a very calming bedside manner, as well. Heck, if she's good enough for Jean-Luc Picard, she's good enough for me!
Just a note, all the silly media and reality tv shows aside, Dr. Drew also runs one of the best detox clinics in the country in California, where, for very practical reasons of privacy, there is absolutely no media coverage. As someone very close to a person who went there for a rather painful addiction problem, I have nothing but respect for the man and his ability to help people in a real setting
Dr. Spaceman from 30 Rock. Hands down! I can't believe you didn't include him!
I'd swap out Dr. Drew for Dr. Phil. Drew may be a famewhore but if someone had a heart attack on a plane he'd know right what to do. Dr. Phil is just a giant, patient- confidentiality-ignoring bag of hot air. If someone had a heart attack on his plane he'd squeal and run into the bathroom. Don't get me started on "Dr." Laura. I hope she has a heart attack. Soon.
How about Jack from Lost? You get all the substance abuse of House, without House's brilliant medical knowledge or dry humor. If he somehow manages to cure your hopeless ailment, you'll be obligated to engage in a brief, unhappy marriage with him.
I guess he gets a +1 for loyalty, though--if you threaten his friends, he'll try to bleed you from the kidneys while you're on the table.
I'd actually probably take Dr. Drew off the list. Addictions counseling is really difficult work with a difficult population. Plus, there's a decently high rate of relapse. Plus, reality TV is probably not the most conducive to the therapeutic process.
I second the nomination of Dr. Phil, but that's a whole rant no one wants to see.
Definitely Dr. Spaceman! He's useless. I'd let Simon Tam handle me anytime.
I would take JD off the list. As Dr. Cox unknowingly admitted to him in the final episode, he's great doctor. He cares immensely about his patients.
Some doctors are Ph.D.s in psychology, some are M.D.s (psychiatrists, among others). The Ph.D.s are going to be pretty much as useful as the average person in a medical emergency. Besides, most planes have defibrillators now that the flight attendants can operate.
I'm sure Dr. Drew does some great work but he is doing a terrible disservice to those wrecks on Celebrity Rehab/Sober House and I think less of him for it. They are fighting for their lives, and I think he knows better than to think that show can help them.
Yeah, Jack is bad. It turns out the only good idea he ever had came from his dad.
Very true, but Dr Phil has violated patient confidentiality and committed other professional ethics violations. He's very poor and unprofessional at what he does; forget counseling, I wouldn't trust him to mop the floor.
Meredith from Grey's may have issues, but she is by far one of the least INCOMPETENT doctors at Seattle Grace. I'd be much more wary letting Izzie (of LVAD-wire cutting infamy) or George (Mr. 007, licensed to kill) come near me with a scapel.
The whole cast of Greys should definitely be on the list.
I'd never want to be treated by any of those whiny docs EVER !!
I agree that most of the Dr's on Grey's are a joke but I hope you're not including Dr. Bailey in that group! Bailey's AWESOME!!! Plus, for all their personal problems, Christina Yang and Alex Karev do a pretty decent job of not falling down to the standards around them
I totally agree with you on that. What he did to Britney was terrible, and didn't he sleep with one of his patients? He should go back to picking juries.
In terms of doctors I *would* go to: basically, all the doctors from M*A*S*H, and I think I'd try my luck with House.