I'm not really a doctor. I just play one on TV.

Having given a fair amount of thought to the way doctors, hospitals, and the general practice of medicine are portrayed on various popular TV shows, I thought I'd share my assessment. I've listed only the shows of which I have watched enough episodes to formulate an opinion, so any omissions are reflective either of my busy schedule away from the couch or an utter lack of desire to subject myself to broadcast garbage.

ER *** The first, the classic, the one that heralded the era of medical dramas! I have to say the show was strongest in the first three seasons and began to falter once George Clooney left. And I'm not just saying that because he's a hunk of burnin' love. He added a real depth to the show as a multidimensional character - a soft-hearted pediatrician dedicated to his patients and a bad boy who womanizes and breaks hearts - which is often hard to find. His friendship with Anthony Edwards' character was also a real highlight of the show. I wasn't a huge fan of his ongoing angsty entanglement with Julianna Margulies, mostly because it played up the stereotype of the doctor-nurse soapy romance. In terms of the show overall, however, there were definite medical inaccuracies, both in the science and the practice of medicine. I understand that reality is fairly dull, but I would have enjoyed the show more if it was a little bit more factually sound. I also have to say I was a big fan of Dr. Romano and the episode in which he is killed by a plummeting helicopter was the end of my failing patience with the show.

Scrubs ***** Easily my favorite medical show for many reasons. I have found it to be the most realistic portrayal of actual medicine on TV in the types of patients and treatments they depict. The relationships among the physicians and nurses are of course peppered with a healthy dose of scripted humor, but I will say that the characters are universal - the cocky but good-hearted attending, bossy protective nurses, and each of the residents remind me of someone I have worked with. The humor in the relationship between Dr. Cox and J.D. is one of the best developed. When I've had an especially difficult day in the hospital, there's no better way to lift my spirits than to watch Scrubs.

Grey's Anatomy ** Eh. I like the first season, mostly because the trashy love triangles and interpersonal angst was fresh and engrossing. And McDreamy really is, well, dreamy. But by the end of the season, I was frustrated by the lack of evolution in their relationship, and by the fact that every single heterosexual male who interacts with Meredith Grey can't help but come on to her. First of all, she's not hot. She's also not blonde, which for some reason the show's writers seem to be convinced she is. (You want a hot blonde doctor who is much more deserving of amorous attention? Katherine Heigl. Hello.) I also got increasingly irritated by Meredith's vapid monologues which, when you really listen, don't say much of anything. Example: Sometimes things seem to be going well. And then you realize they aren't. But you go on. Because maybe things will change. Thanks for that staggering insight, Dr. Grey. Now I see why everyone wants to hump you. And, lest we forget, aside from all this excruciating sexual drama, the medicine on the show isn't even accurate or interesting! The only thing that is worth all the hype is Sandra Oh. She rocks. And Katherine Heigl, as previously mentioned. Interesting how they are the only two actors on the show to have garnered awards...

House ***** Rapidly climbing the ranks to join Scrubs as my favorite shows, I just started watching the first season on DVD and I'm hooked. Loaded with multidimensional characters, not the least of which is Dr. House himself, this show is smart and doesn't assume its viewers are any less. Granted, the medicine is far-fetched, but that's kind of the premise of the show to begin with. And it's well-researched and 100% accurate. There is a fair dose of interpersonal drama but it's all believable and not over-acted. It's also not in any way the focus, either of the show or of any individual episode, making it beautifully subtle and immensely captivating. Speaking of which, I would be lying if I didn't admit that Hugh Laurie's I'm-a-sexy-asshole-and-I-know-it shtick is pretty alluring. He is also incredibly quotable and I wish that it would be appropriate to use House-isms in the real hospital.

Well, there you have it: my personal take as someone "on the inside." I know that I'm biased because I'm one of those people who criticizes these shows for being unrealistic and I realize that they aren't meant to be educational. That's why they have The Learning Channel. :-)

Building character

Do you remember the classic Calvin and Hobbes strip about "building character?" Every time Calvin's dad asks him to do a tedious chore, he justifies it as an opportunity to "build character." Well, lately at work, I've been building more character than I ever wanted to. It's kind of a crunch because we're all leaving by the end of June, except for one, so we have to shuffle things around and cover for each other until all the new staff are on board. So between me and Marisa, we will have to juggle six research studies and generally hold down the fort, which is easier said than done. As if that weren't enough, one of the doctors is writing a grant and I'm the one lucky enough to help her with it. *sarcasm alert* It just so happens with the timing of various departures that I'm the most flexible with my availability. Wooo. This would be annoying per se but it's an especially fun treat because this doc is probably one of the most anal retentive, OCD, super-anxious people I know. And trust me, that's saying a lot. The damn thing is due on May 29th, so I'm going to have to channel all my spiritual and meditative powers to stave off a psychotic break. Not to mention the large, stiff drink I'll need that night.

Anyhoo. My latest Netflix rental was Little Miss Sunshine and I absolutely loved it! That's a movie I could have bought at the store and kept. I'm glad Alan Arkin won the Oscar for his role - he was brilliant! I wish Steve Carell had won something too, though. He is incredibly talented. The whole story was very well written, acted, and filmed. I love movies like that which are like little glimpses into someone's world, kind of like being a fly on the wall for a little while. There's no big finish, no preachy moral, no melodramatic symbolism. Just a story, plain and simple. Next on the list is Miss Congeniality (pure coincidence that two movies based on beauty pageants are adjacent on my queue, I swear!). I would also like to get to the theater to see Shrek the Third sometime soon.

I also would like to draw your attention to the recent additions to my blog, namely links to my Flickr photos and my del.icio.us page. The former is a wonderful way to post, share, and organize pictures and images. The latter is a very handy place to store all your bookmarks and favorite links which you can then access from any computer. Both are free services (Flickr has the option of a paid account with more features and less advertising) and very easy to sign up for. And, as with most things, it's more fun when your friends are doing it. I haven't uploaded all my pics to Flickr yet, but there are a few from the wedding. The main way I am sharing photos right now is through Facebook, but I've been wanting something more permanent and user-friendly than Snapfish or Shutterfly. Check back often - hopefully I'll have most of my pics up in a few days!

Because I need another useless item on my credit card bill

So I have succumbed to the powers of peer pressure. My friend and officemate, Marisa, was looking into subscribing to Netflix yesterday. I, meanwhile, was responsibly and diligently focusing on my work, using every ounce of self-control to keep my eyes on my own computer screen. Let's just say willpower has never been my forte. All I had to see was anything that vaguely resembled a quiz on Marisa's screen and my resolve instantly crumbled to a fine powdery dust. Not only did I subscribe to Netflix, I also managed to rate over 300 movies in the span of 24 hours.

Hi, my name is Viveka. I have no self-control.

On the other hand (cue stream of rationalization), I am looking forward to watching lots of movies that are on my must-see list but which I never actually rent at the video store. I don't know if it's just me, but I have this odd tendency to rent the same five movies over and over again until I realize I should just buy the damn movie already. In an effort to correct this habit, I have perhaps overcompensated by zealously availing myself of the frequent "3 for $20!" DVD sales and purchasing movies that I haven't actually seen yet, with the asinine notion that it's cheaper to buy the used DVD rather than bring myself to rent it and actually return it on time. You do the math. It don't make much sense. Hence the far more financially sound decision to pay $4.99/month (plus tax, of course) for two movies which I will be forced to watch and subsequently forget to return... all without penalty! Hey, it makes sense in my head. And that's what counts. I don't know how my bank account feels about it, but it will just have to deal.

It's good to be king... especially when you're hot

When I first heard about the new television series, The Tudors, I was excited and skeptical. How could a show with such a sexy portrayal of King Henry VIII possibly be historically accurate? Well. I'm no student of European royalty but frankly, the show is so hot, I kind of don't care. From whatever I have seen and read about the infamous Henry, so far it does seem to be faithful to true events. As Jonathan Rhys Meyers responded to the surprising depiction of an overweight, bearded old fart as a jacked, sweaty heartthrob: "The Henry that we portray is somebody who's a very, very athletic guy. But, if you were doing as much hunting, jousting, wrestling, running a country and having a lot of sex, you're going to be pretty trim." Well said. Of course there are certain liberties they take in order to make it a captivating show. Kind of like what they do in all the medical dramas - if they wanted those shows to be realistic, all you'd see is bleary-eyed residents sitting at computers checking lab results, attendings pimping medical students on esoteric biochemical pathways, and nurses taking vital signs. Not so thrilling. That's why they have floods and smallpox epidemics in the ER and people having sex in the operating room.

Speaking of which (the boring realities of medicine, that is), one of my NYC electives was approved! So I will be at the Beth Israel Medical Center in September. I will probably have to apply to another program in addition to Columbia as a safety because Columbia is playing kind of hard-to-get. In any case, I'm excited that I will be getting to try out Manhattan firsthand. I can't believe that I only have about seven weeks left of my research position at MGH. It feels like the year really flew by. I'm kind of nervous about going back to clinical work, but I know that it's just a matter of jumping in and then I'll remember how to swim. Whereas a year ago the prospect of graduating medical school was frankly terrifying, now... well, it's still terrifying but also a relief. I don't care what the media shows, med school ain't no picnic.

I'm also glad the weather is finally more conducive to outdoor activities. I've been able to go for my runs outside now, instead of slogging away on the treadmill indoors, as I prefer to do when it's below freezing. If you're an outdoor exerciser, you should check out this website which helps you map out routes anywhere in the country for running/walking. It gives total miles, elevation points, etc and you can search their database for routes other people have created. It's a pretty handy tool, and useful for traveling.

Well, that's all I have to say about that. Now I'm off to curl up with a good book and cup of tea on this rainy day...

Movie madness

So if you're anything like me, you get really, really, really excited about certain upcoming movies. Really. And, if you're as much of a procrastinator as I am, you love watching trailers for said movies online. I was going to go to bed early tonight, honest! But then I found out that the cover for the final Harry Potter book was released today and then I had to watch the trailer for the next Harry Potter movie, one thing led to another and before I knew it, I had generated the following list of Must-See Movies being released this year:

Blades of Glory -- March 30th
Shrek the Third -- May 18th
Ocean's 13 -- June 8th
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix -- July 13th

I realize these are mainly sequels (or tri-quels?) but I tend to enjoy movies that come in series. Previous favorites include Rush Hour, Ace Ventura and, I am not ashamed to admit, Jurassic Park. I loved both Shrek movies, all three Harry Potter movies, and Ocean's 11. There were certain moments in Ocean's 12 that were priceless (Julia Roberts as Tess Ocean who has to pass herself off as Julia Roberts, the sexy French dude doing acrobatic yoga to traverse a room crisscrossed with laser beams, to name a few) but overall it was not nearly as well-executed as the original. That being said, any film featuring George Clooney, Brad Pitt, and Matt Damon together could have crappy screenwriting, poor special effects, and a weak plot, and I'd still fork over $9.50 to drool over my popcorn for two and a half hours. Hee!

Anyhoo, that's largely what the last hour or so was occupied with. But it's past 11pm now and I think I'll turn into a pumpkin if I don't get to bed soon.