Favorite Medical TV Shows: Grey's Anatomy

I assume everyone has watched an episode or two of Grey's Anatomy, as it is one of the most highly watched shows on television this year. If you are like most of my friends, you are likely addicted and have your most favorite and least favorite characters (I would have chosen McVet of the men, and I would like to be friends with Addison; I'm not a huge fan of Meredith or Derek). What seems most compelling about this show are the relationships, although the medical story lines are also interesting.

All of you probably know (though I don't think most average viewers "get") that the show's title comes from a classic medical textbook, Gray's Anatomy, written by Henry Gray in 1918. The other often-mentioned aspect of this show is its very high level of gender and ethnic diversity among the various surgeons. You probably also know that surgery remains a highly male-dominated specialty, although the numbers of women choosing surgery is on the increase. I think I enjoy this show more because of the natural blending of genders, races, and personalities. I also cannot deny that I enjoy the romantic entanglements that are essential to the story lines. But, I do think the show is more interesting because these characters are physicians, as opposed to lawyers or detectives or office workers. We know they are incredibly smart but they end making ridiculously poor personal decisions. All the while, they are performing complex operations and saving people's lives.

At the same time, the characters also take incredible professional risks. The ethical dilemma of last season was, of course, Izzy and Denny and the cutting of the LVAD wire in order to improve his chances for a donor heart, which almost worked, but was doomed to failure. Isn't it amazing that a television show could make the term "LVAD wire" such common knowledge?! I have to say, I found Denny a bit annoying, so I thought it was a good ending for him and for Izzy's character. This season's focus has been on Cristina "covering" for Burke in surgery due to his hand tremor caused by a gunshot wound. Was this the right thing for her to do or not? And who can forget Christina Ricci with her hand in a man's chest holding an unexploded bomb that decimates poor Kyle Chandler? This show is definitely not afraid of the medically weird or gross, although it always brings us back to the relationships--whether romantic, or Meredith and her mother, or the friendships between the surgeons, or the competition between them, or the struggles between attendings and interns.

Enough of my musings. Do you guys love Grey's Anatomy too? Do you think it presents a realistic vision of what it is like to be a surgical intern? Do you hope it's realistic?! How do you weigh the ethical dilemmas that are presented?

Enjoy tonight's episode. Tomorrow: an oldie but still hanging in there, ER.