Season 1 of HBO Max’s “The Pitt” follows a day in the life of the Emergency Medicine team at a Pittsburgh Trauma Center. However, it’s not just the series’ innovative format covering one hour of the shift for each episode that caught the audience’s attention. Compared to other medical dramas, the show exceeds expectations in its medical accuracy, as demonstrated by the following scene breakdown.

Creating the Medical Scene

Dr. Mohan, played by Supriya Ganesh, and Dr. King, played by Taylor Dearden, have differing opinions on how to treat a patient who experiences a side effect from a medication. This leads to the high-stakes drama creating not just good TV, but also represents the high stakes felt in medical practice.

As someone who talks about television, who has been in the medical field for the last decade, and currently works in an Emergency Department, it’s not just that you would see side effects from a drug. “The Pitt” can add another layer to this by explaining why it resonates with so many people in the medical field, highlighting where the drama already exists.

Medical Fantasy Versus Reality

When practicing medicine, the human body is already a complex and stressful entity. Then, you watch a medical drama where their storylines involve undiagnosable diseases or never-before-seen procedures, a procedure going completely wrong, or the worst possible scenario in a hospital. It feels less medically accurate and more like a medical fantasy. Now, they’re fabricating high stakes for a doctor to go through.

So, how does “The Pitt” do this differently?

In this scene between Doctor Mohan and Doctor King, they are attempting to treat a patient with swelling of the lips and tongue, known as angioedema. This occurred immediately after the patient took a medication, suggesting it may have been a possible side effect, such as anaphylaxis. The difference in what to do next that these doctors are contemplating is not because one of them doesn’t know what’s going on in their case; it’s because they are both correct.

Why “The Pitt” Stands Out

Because either one of these doctors could be right, the drama and high stakes created in this scenario are not through the competition between the doctors. It’s a risk they are taking and what they believe is next. Do they manage what complications this patient could inevitably have, or should they prevent them from happening in the first place? The answer may seem obvious, but it changes scenario by scenario. It depends on the timing, the type of treatment, and the extent to which the swelling has progressed. Either of them could have been right, and this time, it was Doctor Mohan. This created a universal experience of being a doctor, one that involved both practicing and studying medicine.

There’s no one correct answer, but circumstances determine what the next best answer is. Finding the balance between your gut and your knowledge is what it means to be a doctor. Clearly, “The Pitt” gets it in a way that makes for good TV.

All episodes of “The Pitt” are out and available to stream on HBO Max.