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When it comes to medical accuracy, "The Pitt" is in a league of its own! Join us as we explore why this groundbreaking show sets a new standard for medical realism on television. From having active ER doctors as producers to putting actors through medical boot camp, we'll examine how this series captures the true essence of emergency medicine.
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00:03Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're looking at the key reasons The Pit stands out as one of the most
00:08medically accurate TV shows ever made.
00:16Number 10. It comes from the team behind ER.
00:19When it was on TV from the mid-90s through the 2000s, ER was praised for being more realistic than
00:25any medical show before it.
00:26But this, this is the surgical room. This is where the real action is.
00:34After all, it was created by Michael Crichton, who had an MD from Harvard.
00:39Around 2020, two of ER's writers and producers, R. Scott Gemmel and John Wells, as well as star Noah Wiley,
00:46began kicking around the idea of an ER spinoff.
00:48So I was getting a lot of mail from people on the front lines saying, you know, we could sure
00:54use Dr. Carter out here.
00:55Warner Bros. couldn't reach an agreement with Crichton's wife about using the IP, so the team had to pivot.
01:00The result was The Pit, an ultra-realistic, incredibly intense medical drama that clearly takes inspiration from its network television
01:07predecessor.
01:08I can't take how excited I am to be here today, so...
01:11Talk to me at the end of the day.
01:14Ignore him. He had a rough night.
01:17Number 9. One of the executive producers is an active ER doctor.
01:21Joe Sachs is another member of the ER team who joined The Pit.
01:24He's an actual emergency room physician who still works part-time, and he started on ER as a technical advisor.
01:30Emergency medicine started as a specialty in 1968.
01:34In 1968, there was no 911, there were no paramedics, there was no formal training for physicians in emergency medicine.
01:40He then took on the roles of writer, editor, and producer, until finally being promoted to executive producer in the
01:4614th season.
01:47He was one of the key voices who insisted on keeping ER as accurate as possible, and that enthusiasm for
01:53accuracy has translated to The Pit.
01:55Bedford? Where the hell am I?
01:57Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Center.
01:59Why?
01:59Your friend couldn't wake you.
02:01On the new show, Sachs is a co-executive producer, writer, and medical consultant.
02:06His real-life experience has been crucial in helping the cast, crew, and extras get not just the medical procedures
02:11and terms right, but every background detail too.
02:14It's really an honor to be recognized by my peers, but the bigger honor for me is to see and
02:22hear and read the unanimous acclaim given to the show by both emergency providers and the public.
02:30Number eight.
02:31The writer's room is research-driven.
02:32Emergency medicine is complicated, and if you want to create an accurate show, you have to commit.
02:37That's why the writers and producers put in so much research.
02:40Oh, groaning's good. Five of nasal, O2CBC, CMP, Phonan, and D-dimer.
02:46What are you doing?
02:47One gram calcium glutinate, IV push.
02:49We don't have the labs back.
02:51Click the monitor.
02:51Wine QRS and peak T waves, hyperkalemia.
02:53They call in professionals in all kinds of fields to consult on the show, from a social worker to an
02:59expert in health disparities and pediatric medicine to an EMS director.
03:03Oxygen level is normal. Good pulse and blood pressure.
03:07For an episode that features a mass casualty incident, they use data from similar real-life incidents to get the
03:13numbers right.
03:14This might be the only writer's room in Hollywood where the staff spend more time researching than they did in
03:19college.
03:19You open a drawer, everything that's supposed to be in the drawer is there.
03:23Number seven.
03:23It gets the small, human details right.
03:26Real healthcare professionals love the pit, in part because no detail gets overlooked.
03:31Shake it first.
03:32Oh, but make sure the lid is...
03:34Screw down tight.
03:37Oh, okay.
03:38In one episode, for instance, Dr. Robbie can't seem to find two minutes to step away to use the bathroom,
03:44a scenario all too familiar to actual ER staff.
03:47Getting peed on and vomited on?
03:49Injuring yourself moving a patient?
03:50Getting screamed at or harassed by unhappy patients?
03:53Unfortunately, these are also realistic situations.
03:56There is blood collecting in the sack around your heart.
03:58You need surgery before your heart stops from the pressure around it.
04:02Just pull the nail out!
04:03That would definitely kill you.
04:05The crew also pays incredible attention to the background details.
04:08The fluid in the IV bags decreases at an appropriate rate, and the ultrasound images are accurate.
04:13Nothing gets missed.
04:15You don't always get to see the best side of people.
04:17I guess it just kind of makes me sad.
04:19Number six.
04:20The cast was put through medical boot camp.
04:22Before filming even started, the main cast went through a period of intensive medical training that they refer to as
04:28boot camp.
04:29This is doctor school, which is just completely bonkers.
04:33They performed procedures on medical dummies, from intubation to suturing, to ensure that it looked as real as possible when
04:39they did it for the cameras.
04:40Dr. Sachs, of course, supervised the whole thing.
04:43Actor Jaron Howell, who plays med student Whitaker, described it as medical school crammed into two weeks.
04:49It's 120 beats per minute, and the reason you do it is pumping blood into the heart.
04:53Some of the cast felt so confident afterward, they wanted to test out their skills on real people.
04:58Not many TV shows put that much effort into achieving realism.
05:01And advance through the cords.
05:03Number five.
05:05The medical effects are so real, they fooled doctors.
05:08No matter how accurate the diagnoses are, and how convincingly the actors play their parts,
05:12if the injuries and body parts don't look real, people won't feel immersed.
05:16What's going on, Sherry?
05:18I'm...
05:19Ah!
05:19And the pit doesn't shy away from showing plenty of blood and gruesome injuries.
05:27My student down.
05:28Head makeup artist Miriam Auergeti watched training videos created for doctors that showed real medical procedures,
05:34so she could understand what the production needed.
05:37Some of the prosthetics needed to move, like a heart that beats and lungs that inflate.
05:41A surgeon who didn't work on the show actually accused Auergeti of using footage of real patients,
05:46in violation of healthcare privacy laws, but in reality, it was just an incredibly talented effects team.
05:51I just wanted to apologize for any trouble my clumsiness might have caused.
05:55I feel ridiculous.
05:56Oh, I can't tell many times I've hit my head on an overhead lamp twice.
05:59I needed to get staples.
06:00Number four.
06:01It reflects real systemic hospital problems.
06:04If you live in the U.S., you know that the healthcare system is a mess,
06:07but insurance and cost to patients are the only problem.
06:11We need to talk about your numbers.
06:12Uh, people we've saved?
06:14Metrics.
06:15Nursing shortages and a lack of space in hospitals are real problems, too,
06:18and we're introduced to them early in the pit's first episode.
06:21Boarding is a nationwide problem.
06:23Your predecessor, Adamson, sure as hell knew that.
06:26Doctors, nurses, and other hospital staff also deal with workplace violence
06:30at a far higher rate than most other professions, and the pit tackles that issue, too.
06:35A patient hit you?
06:36Yeah.
06:36Happens all the time.
06:37I got my cheek broken.
06:38I lost it, too.
06:39We also see realistic examples of racism affecting both patients and staff,
06:44as well as the bureaucracy that constantly makes the staff's jobs even harder than they already are.
06:48We've already distributed patient passports to everyone at registration.
06:53What is a patient passport?
06:55I'm so glad you asked.
06:57Number three.
06:58Nurses are treated as essential, not supporting characters.
07:01Too many medical shows treat nurses like assistants,
07:04who are just there to hand the doctors the tools and medications they need.
07:07They're not even close to reality.
07:09Important person that you're going to meet today.
07:11This is Dana.
07:11She's our charge nurse.
07:12She is the ringleader of our circus.
07:15Do what she says when she says it.
07:17Nurses are educated and experienced medical professionals who are often the ones doing the dirty work in a hospital.
07:23The pit is one of the few shows that gives them the recognition they deserve.
07:26Our employees.
07:27Do you even remember the last nursing strike?
07:28Yeah, that was a real shit show.
07:30Maybe this is something our union reps should know about?
07:32Charge nurse Dana is a fan favorite,
07:34and it's obvious that the pit's emergency department wouldn't function without her.
07:38Okay, Mr. Krakosia, we're here to help you.
07:40We're here to help you.
07:41Dr. Robby also pays due respect to the nurses,
07:44and he makes sure the med students do the same.
07:46Why did you order the EKG?
07:48The nurse suggested it to rule out any cardiac issues.
07:52Well, good call on both your parts.
07:54Nurses know what they're doing.
07:55Never hesitate to listen to them.
07:57Number two.
07:58Real doctors are embedded in production.
08:00The staff at the pit don't just consult with doctors during the writing process,
08:03and Joe Sachs isn't the only doctor on set during filming.
08:06The director was like, okay, Dr. Morris,
08:08now how would you pull this young female out of the car?
08:10I said, I would just pull her out of the car like any other person would do, you know?
08:14The crew has a team of doctors and nurses on hand at all times,
08:17and some of them even appear on screen.
08:19Let's stress these wounds and send off a blood gas.
08:21Well done, and very well taught, Dr. Lange.
08:26In addition to Dr. Sachs,
08:28three more doctors were present during filming for season one.
08:31Six nurses and physician's assistants worked as extras,
08:34ensuring that everything going on in the background of each shot looked real.
08:37These professionals helped with everything,
08:39from the medical jargon to the actress' techniques when performing procedures.
08:44Dylan, say thank you.
08:46Before we continue,
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09:02Number one,
09:03it highlights the mental and emotional cost of emergency care.
09:06Working in an emergency department,
09:08especially one as busy as the pit,
09:10is hard.
09:11Must have had a reason at one time to keep coming back,
09:14but
09:16I can't think of it right now
09:19because this is the job that keeps on giving.
09:23Nightmares.
09:24Ulcers.
09:25The staff have to deal with one crisis after another,
09:28from losing patients to dealing with grieving families
09:31to the threats to their own safety.
09:33It takes a toll.
09:34The pit reflects that better than most medical shows.
09:36Who the hell ordered BiPAP?
09:38Garcia?
09:39No, his stats were down.
09:41I didn't.
09:42You did.
09:43Without running it by me.
09:45Can I put in a chest tube?
09:46He doesn't need a chest tube.
09:48He needs a pigtail catheter,
09:49and I'll be doing it.
09:50Each episode takes place in real time,
09:52which allows viewers to feel the same intensity
09:54and exhaustion as the characters.
09:56It also addresses the challenges
09:58that medical professionals face post-COVID,
10:01particularly through Dr. Robby,
10:02who was traumatized by the pandemic.
10:06Another doctor, Jack Abbott,
10:09is dealing with his own burnout
10:10and mental health issues.
10:11The pit has even helped real emergency workers
10:13show their friends and family
10:15exactly what their jobs are like.
10:17Almost a little too real.
10:18Honestly, it's a little too real.
10:19Are you watching the pit?
10:20Which storyline has captivated you the most?
10:22Let us know in the comments below,
10:24and remember to label your spoilers.
10:27Let us know in the comments below,
10:28and remember to label your spoilers.
10:29Let us know in the comments below.
10:29Let us know in the comments below.
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