Is ‘The Pitt’ the most accurate medical drama? Ohio State experts weigh in

Siena Kessler
Thu, 02 Apr 2026 03:36:10 +0000
Arts & Life, Entertainment, Features, Instagram Page, News, Pop culture, TV, Dr Katie Buck OSU, Dr Mark Conroy OSU, emergency department challenges, emergency medicine accuracy TV, emergency medicine teamwork, emergency physician perspectives, emergency room realism TV, ER doctors TV shows, ER TV show comparison, Grey’s Anatomy vs The Pitt, healthcare stress portrayal TV, hospital life TV shows, hospital overcrowding emergency rooms, hospital shows realistic portrayal, House medical drama accuracy, medical accuracy television, medical drama realism debate, Ohio State doctors The Pitt, Ohio State Wexner Medical Center doctors, physician burnout TV shows, realistic medical series, The Pitt medical drama, The Pitt TV show, triage nurses emergency care, TV shows about doctors 2026

From left: Gerran Howell, Amielynn Abellera, Noah Wyle, Sepideh Moafi and Supriya Ganesh in “The Pitt” Season 2. Credit: Warrick Page/HBO Max via TNS

After winning five Emmy Awards in 2025, the hit medical drama “The Pitt” is drawing attention not just from viewers, but from the people it portrays: emergency physicians.?

Two Ohio State emergency medicine doctors say the series is one of the most accurate depictions of hospital life on television, capturing the pressures and unpredictability of emergency care more realistically than other medical shows.?

Dr. Mark Conroy, medical director and associate professor of emergency medicine and sports medicine at Ohio State, said “The Pitt” highlights the intensity of working in a high-stakes environment.

“They certainly don’t dress up what emergency medicine is like,” Conroy said.

Conroy said the show’s portrayal of overcrowding and difficult patient interactions is particularly true to real life. He said the series reflects challenges emergency departments across the country face daily.

“The pressures physicians are experiencing in terms of providing care in hallways and providing care to people who aren’t necessarily in the best frame of mind — they are argumentative, they are emotionally challenging cases,” Conroy said. “‘The Pitt’ does a really good job of showing that.”

Dr. Katie Buck, physician and associate professor of emergency medicine at Ohio State, also said the show stands out for addressing ethically complex issues.

“They’re not afraid to go after controversial topics,” Buck said, citing storylines involving vaccine discussions.?

Conroy said the show’s depiction of limited space reflects real hospital conditions.

“There were episodes where they had to move an older patient into the pediatric wing because that’s the only place where they had an open room,” Conroy said. “That’s a fairly accurate depiction of what emergency medicine is like right now.”

Buck said many decisions regarding who gets treated first are actually made by triage nurses rather than physicians, but the urgency behind those choices is realistic.

“In emergency medicine, you train to make life-and-death decisions,” Buck said. “Split-second decision-making is accurate. Sometimes you have seconds, sometimes you have longer.”

Both Buck and Conroy said this realism sets “The Pitt” apart from other medical dramas. Compared with long-running shows like “Grey’s Anatomy,” “ER” or “House,” they said “The Pitt” offers a more grounded portrayal of medicine.

“I’ve watched bits of ‘Grey’s Anatomy,’” Conroy said. “It’s very much just there for the drama. I didn’t find it to be accurate.”

Buck echoed that sentiment, describing “Grey’s Anatomy” as “a TV drama” rather than a true medical show.

By contrast, Buck said “The Pitt” is one of the few shows where she can confidently say the work looks familiar.

“When people ask me about ‘The Pitt,’ they ask, ‘Is that really what you do?’” Buck said. “I feel like I can finally say, ‘Yeah, that’s pretty much what I do.’”

Buck said “The Pitt” could even help viewers better understand the field.

“I have family members and friends who didn’t understand what I did,” Buck said. “I think they thought I put bandaids on them for a living, which I do sometimes, but the show gives them a better idea of what I do when I go to work.”

Beyond medical procedures, both physicians said “The Pitt” succeeds in portraying the emotional weight of emergency medicine, including stress and grief.?

“There’s a lot of emotions going on behind the scenes in individuals working in the emergency department and healthcare in general,” Conroy said. “The show does a nice job of capturing that. They talk about burnout, feeling overwhelmed and the anxiety that comes with the care you’re providing, working in a high-stress environment.”?

The show also highlights what happens after a shift ends, something Buck said is often overlooked.

“We don’t just walk out the door and forget about patients,” Buck said. “We are human and we think about them long after we leave.”

Even with its realism, “The Pitt” doesn’t show everything, Conroy said. One of the biggest omissions, according to Conroy, is the amount of administrative work physicians handle during a shift.

“A large percentage of our shift is spent writing notes, calling consults and talking with families,” Conroy said. “That’s not exciting, so it doesn’t make for good TV. They breeze through that.”

Buck said that the show compresses the pace, stacking multiple high-intensity cases that rarely occur in a single day.

“We don’t see all of those things in one day usually,” Buck said. “They are picking the most interesting parts of emergency medicine to keep you captivated for 60 minutes.”

Buck said “The Pitt” also emphasizes something often overlooked in medical dramas: teamwork.

“Emergency medicine is a team sport,” Buck said. “I couldn’t walk into the ER tomorrow and do it myself. I need my team around me — nurses, respiratory therapists, physicians … We do a good job supporting each other and getting through the shift together. Each role is important. All members of the healthcare team make the place run.”