I have to read them. I haen't read any of them yet.

Crap. I have to go read that.

`Grey's Anatomy' vs. reality

Show portrays overly glamorous version, say real medical residents

KYRA KYLESKnight Ridder/Tribune

CHICAGO - Medical interns are on call 48 hours straight.
Each week, the unusually good-looking young doctors help uncover rare diseases and solve complex medical traumas.
And in between saving lives, they have plenty of time to hook up.
If you accept any of the above as fact, you have officially bought into the medical mythologies of ABC's popular dramedy "Grey's Anatomy," which follows a group of surgical interns in their first year of surgical residency.
But first-year internal medicine and surgical residents say the show gives an overly glamorous version of hospital life.
True med heads face limited on-the-job socializing and fewer opportunities to spring into emergency action.
Though a number of the "Grey's" characters share screen time and even living space, real first-year residents rarely work with or see one another at the hospital. And the real-life residents say they are more often referred to as "first-years," not interns, as the show calls them.
That's not all that needs clearing up.
In the show's fictional Seattle Grace Hospital, patients flatline at every turn, and doctors are everywhere, doing everything at once. The beautiful budding surgeons hook up at every opportunity.
"I like the show," said Melissa Dugan, a first-year surgical resident at Prentice Women's Hospital in Chicago. "But it's not realistic at all."
Especially offensive to the 26-year-old Dugan has been the romantic relationship between a first year, Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo), and one of the attending surgeons, Derek Shepherd (Patrick Dempsey).
"Believe me, there would be no relationships between a first-year and an attending surgeon or physician," Dugan said. "That would be considered a really serious matter and frowned upon."
But the social side of "Grey's Anatomy" has given glamour points to David McElligott, a first-year resident in internal medicine at Loyola University Health System in suburban Maywood, Ill.
"I always tell my friends that my life at the hospital is just like it is on `Grey's Anatomy,' only with more sex," joked McElligott, 26. "It's not like relationships never happen between interns, but it's nowhere as often as they portray it."
In fact, there is little time for hospital hanky-panky.
A first-year resident is lucky to grab a cup of coffee between patient visits, let alone carry on a risque romance. Between visiting and admitting new patients, McElligott often eats brief lunches in the cafeteria, reports to rounds and sets up tests.
"It has definitely not been my experience," agreed Amanda McLain, 27, also a first-year resident at Loyola. "That doesn't mean doctors never get together, but I haven't seen it happen that often."
"Most people start seeing each other or dating while they're in medical school," McElligott said. "That's when there's the most downtime and you're around a larger pool of people."
The Truth About Med School
Has watching "Grey's Anatomy" got you salivating for a scalpel? A look inside:
• When do surgical residencies begin? Surgical residencies begin after a student has completed medical school. These days, most first-year residents enter an integrated five-year program allowing them to learn general surgery while working on subspecialties, said Dr. Richard Gamelli, chairman of the department of surgery at Loyola University Health System.
• How long do surgical residencies last? Most surgical residencies -- including general, neurosurgery, and orthopedic -- are a minimum of five years. OB/GYN residents are required to spend at least four years in their program. Pediatric surgery requires a minimum of seven years of residency, according to an American Board of Surgery spokeswoman Melissa Banker.
• How many hours do medical residents really work? All residents work 80 hours a week, averaged over a four-week period, including 30 hours of on-call activities, according to the standards of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education. After each 30-hour on-call shift, residents must be allowed 24 hours off.

From: The Charlotte Observer