FR02-14 ACCURACY OF UROLOGIC CONDITIONS PORTRAYED ON GREYʼS ANATOMY

Abstract

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVE: Benign and malignant urologic conditions are becoming increasingly prevalent in the aging population. However, studies have demonstrated that the general public often has little knowledge or insight into the field of urology or the role of a urologist (Gagnon 2009, Barayan 2011). One way to reach a large audience and increase the public’s awareness is through increased representation on medical television shows. Grey’s Anatomy is the longest running American primetime medical drama series (2005 to present) with an average of almost 20 million viewers for the first few seasons. In this study, we investigated the context, frequency, and accuracy of urologic conditions on Grey’s Anatomy to better understand how the field of urology is portrayed on this popular show. METHODS: We reviewed detailed plot synopses for each episode of the first 15 seasons of Grey’s Anatomy for common urologic keywords including kidney, prostate, bladder, penis, urethra, testicle, scrotum, stone, incontinence, prolapse, urine, catheter, retention, and urology. Episodes with urologic references were then screened and the urologic conditions, outcomes, and treatments were recorded. The medical accuracy of the conditions and treatments were agreed upon by two reviewing physicians. RESULTS: We identified a total of 21 urologic events across 15 seasons and 342 episodes of Grey’s Anatomy. This corresponds to an average of 1.4 urologic condition per season or one urologic condition for every 16.3 episodes. A total of 43% (9/21) of the conditions were related to the male penis or urethra (Table 1). The remainder were related to the kidney (19%), bladder (19%), testicle/scrotum (10%), prostate (5%) or other (5%). The portrayal of these conditions and the associated treatments were considered to be medically accurate within reason 62% (13/21) of the time. The show’s main urologist was introduced in the 8th season so most of the urologic surgeries in the prior episodes were performed by general surgeons and plastic surgeons. CONCLUSIONS: Urologic conditions are infrequently represented on Grey’s Anatomy and over half of the references were related to external male genitalia. There is significant room for improvement to increase the portrayal of common urologic conditions and malignancies to improve the public’s awareness and perception of our specialty.Source of Funding: None