I am no stranger to medical dramas. When students ask me why I wanted to become a doctor, I often joke it’s because I watched a lot of “Grey’s Anatomy” in high school. This isn’t the whole story, of course, but shows like “Grey’s Anatomy” were a real part of my journey to medical school. As a pre-med, becoming a doctor often felt like a goal that was perpetually out of reach, with yet another exam or hurdle always on the horizon. I studied the main characters on these shows like they were my mentors, admiring their skill, confidence, and bravery, at times forgetting it was all fiction.
These days, it’s impossible to work in the ED and not hear about “The Pitt,” a popular new medical drama set in a fictional Pittsburgh ED. My friends, co-workers, and even my patients have stopped me to ask whether I have seen the show, curious whether it resonates with someone who actually works in the ED. I was struck when one of my co-interns confessed he had to stop watching 10 minutes in, because it felt too much like being at work; something I’d never heard about “Grey’s Anatomy,” or any of the medical shows I watched growing up. Curious, after a nine-hour shift in the ED, I returned home, scrubs still on, and settled in to put the show to the test.
“The Pitt” pulls you in from the start. Within minutes, viewers are introduced to a cast of characters you could probably find in any ED, and those I have certainly seen in mine — the all-knowing charge nurse, the omnipresent attending, the eager intern. I was struck most by the pace; the characters never seem to rest. In each room, a new story unfolds, a new patient is wheeled in, and a new challenge arises. It reminded me of the shift I had just come from, where, within minutes, I oscillated between placing an IV in a narrow hallway, talking to a concerned family member on the phone, and requesting a bed in the ICU. The truest part of “The Pitt” was how much seems to happen every hour. Practicing emergency medicine requires mastering the art of task switching, and watching the protagonist, Dr. Robby, continually being diverted from task to task made me laugh and sigh in recognition. It’s true, as an emergency medicine intern, watching the show sometimes did feel painfully close to being at work.
I used to wonder why TV shows set in the ED are so compelling to both medical and non-medical viewers, and now, spending up to 60 hours a week immersed in the ED, I think I understand why. The ED is maximalist. It is overstimulating, the lights are bright, the alarms are loud, and there is a certain fascination in watching someone else’s life unfold. Medical emergencies can reduce both patients and clinicians to their core, most human emotions: fear, hope, despair, and anger. The highs are high, and the lows can be really, really low. As each patient's story blurs into the next in “The Pitt”, viewers experience the thrill of saving a life, the grief of losing one, and the constant forward motion pushing you to see the next patient, and the next one, and the next one.
I think part of the reason “The Pitt” has become such a phenomenon is because it means something different, but important, to everyone who watches it. As I’ve talked about the show with my own communities, I’ve noticed themes: non-medical viewers love it as a window into the often shrouded world of medicine. Medical viewers from outside the ED laud the show as the most realistic of the medical dramas, because it nails medical jargon and evokes nostalgia for their own ED rotations. But among my peers in the ED, appreciation for the show is mingled with the sentiment that the stories “The Pitt” tells about topics like the boarding crisis, assaults on health care workers, and the nursing shortage may hit too close to home to feel like entertainment. Watching, I can’t help but hope “The Pitt” draws public attention to the myriad shortcomings of our health care system, many of which I see on full display in the ED on any given day of the week.
One day in the ED, captured in a 15-episode season in “The Pitt,” contains enough action to fit an eternity. It reminds me of an adage I hear often in residency: The days are long, but the years are short. Almost one year in, I think of this nearly every day. Reflecting on the near decade I have spent in school to learn how to do this job, and now, watching “The Pitt,” I am reminded of my pre-med self, who would have been willing to do nearly anything to be like the characters on screen, rushing around the ED in fluid-splattered scrubs, fearlessly wielding a laryngoscope. How incredible it is that now, watching a show like “The Pitt” feels almost mundane.
Have you seen "The Pitt"? How do you think it compares to live in the ED or clinic? Share in the comments!
Dr. Anjali Misra is an EM resident in Boston, MA. She is passionate about health equity, prehospital care, and public health. She is a 2024-2025 Doximity Op-Med Fellow.
Illustration by Jennifer Bogartz
