Reality check

Medicine is that gloriously glamorous profession that American television is so good at portraying. George Clooney and Alex Kingston bat their eyelids and flirt with us as they treat our bodily ailments. The nurses do more than their usual daily duties; they are natural born solvers of all personal angst and are angels who bring estranged families together. The medical students are all enthusiastic, never complaining that they wish they could be in bed or out partying, but would actually prefer to be given more responsibility. They want to sacrifice life and family for the good of all humankind and stay well beyond the call of duty. On top of all this, they manage to acquire the knowledge of a consultant who has been practising for 50 years. Every day is a life and death situation, with car crashes, domestic violence, and terrorist attacks; the staff of this television-world hospital cope beautifully.

“Ah, what an amazing profession,” we all say. …