Medical shows are everywhere. They pull you in with life-or-death emergencies, risky surgeries, and the emotional rollercoaster of hospital life. As an HSMSE student fascinated by medicine and inspired by these shows, I often find myself wondering: How close to reality is all this drama? 

You may have seen an article from The New York Times praising The Pitt, a new medical show that debuted in 2025, or noticed nurses and doctors raving about its accuracy all over social media. But is it really worth watching? And most importantly—how accurate is it really? 

The Pitt’s first season follows a single day in the ER, hour by hour, immersing viewers in the chaos, understaffing, nonstop critical decisions, and emotional weight on doctors and nurses. The season follows senior attending physician Dr. Michael Robinavitch, known as Dr. Robby, as he leads his team through a seemingly endless day filled with a wide array of medical emergencies and personal crises. The show doesn’t just focus on the medicine; it also explores the emotional and physical demands on the staff, including a new group of medical students, blending high-stakes drama with moments of dark humor and genuine human connection. With each episode representing one hour of the workday, the series gives an almost real-time look at life in the ER. 

Most medical shows exaggerate. Patients recover miraculously, emergencies happen back-to-back, diagnoses appear instantly, and doctors wander into every specialty like they’re superheroes. The Pitt has its moments of exaggeration, too. Interns sometimes make huge decisions without checking in with a senior resident, CT scan results come back extremely fast, and almost no patients have drug allergies. Doctors constantly wear stethoscopes, which isn’t typical in a real ER, and surgeons seem to operate in every specialty imaginable. But these are mostly small tweaks for the story, not major distortions.

What makes The Pitt stand out is how it truly captures the reality of an emergency room. The hospital is constantly short on beds and nurses, forcing staff to handle overwhelming patient loads. Wait times can stretch for days, and administrative decisions often prioritize patient satisfaction scores or potential hospital sales over clinical needs. In the show, Gloria, the hospital’s chief medical officer, drills Dr. Robby for low patient satisfaction scores, despite the primary cause being the hospital’s willful decision not to hire enough nursing staff. Today, by keeping staffing levels low, hospitals reduce major expenses like salaries, benefits, and overtime pay. Executives, who typically have a business instead of a clinical background, apply business models to healthcare, which rewards cost-cutting measures even if it negatively impacts patient care. As a result, there are increased patient mortality rates, higher rates of medical errors, and extreme burnout for existing staff, who most likely have to work overtime. Moreover, doctors and nurses frequently plead for more resources and protection against physical attacks from angry patients, only to be met with indifference.

According to Doctor Mike, a popular board-certified family physician who is trained in osteopathic manipulative medicine (hands-on treatment using gentle movements, stretching, and pressure to relieve pain, improve movement, and support the body’s natural healing) and known for his extensive social media presence, the show’s medical accuracy is impressive. Terminology and procedure names are correct, and the series presents a wide range of crises (from fentanyl overdoses to traumatic brain injuries and drowning victims). The Pitt’s medical accuracy is thanks to Joe Sachs, a former emergency room doctor, and a team of practicing medical consultants. Additionally, complex procedures are filmed in a way that makes them appear routine, without the use of stunt doctors or shortcuts for actors. Despite this technical precision, the series never sacrifices character-driven drama.

The show also gives proper attention to nurses, a group often overlooked in medical dramas. Nurses are the first responders in emergencies and hold critical knowledge from firsthand patient care. In the ER, they administer medication prescribed by physicians, continuously monitor patients, and provide education and comfort to patients and their families during stressful situations. While predecessors have focused mainly on doctors, The Pitt, particularly through Katherine LaNasa’s character Dana Evans, emphasizes the essential role of nurses in hospital operations. She guides junior staff, acts as a therapist for overworked doctors, assigns beds, and directs the chaotic flow of patients. When Dr. Robby introduces Dana to the interns, he calls her the “most important person” they will meet, instructing them to listen carefully to her guidance. Later, he praises a student doctor for following Dana’s recommendation for an extra test, underscoring that experienced nurses often know more than rookie doctors. 

In many medical shows, doctors are portrayed as flawless heroes, like Cristina Yang or Derek Shepherd in Grey’s Anatomy. The Pitt, however, emphasizes that all its characters are fallible; even Dr. Robby and his counterpart, Dr. Jack Abbott, make mistakes. Each character has strengths and weaknesses, whether it’s their cockiness, temper, or an innate talent in medicine. These traits are revealed gradually through dialogue and tense situations, uncovering how they act and speak under pressure. Patients, too, are portrayed as fully developed individuals, each with their own stories and challenges, reflecting the diversity of cases an ER actually sees. 

The series also captures the realistic pace and workflow of an ER, showing doctors and nurses multitasking, triaging, and switching between emergencies under pressure. It highlights teamwork and hierarchy, as attendings guide residents, nurses coordinate care, and interns learn on the job. Ethical and logistical challenges, such as balancing scarce resources with patient needs, are shown in a subtle, believable way. 

So why does all this matter?

Shows like The Pitt do more than entertain. They shape how millions of people think about healthcare. A realistic portrayal helps viewers understand why hospitals struggle, why staff burnout is real, and why compassion and resources matter. For students interested in medicine, it offers a glimpse of the responsibility and humanity behind the job—not just the glamour. For the public, it encourages empathy for medical workers and awareness of systemic problems that need attention. For viewers, it’s an experience that feels as close to real hospital life as television can get—engaging, educational, and deeply human.