Noah Wyle, using a stethoscope, stands with four medical staff members as they look down at a patient in a neck brace in a scene from “The Pitt.”

Noah Wyle (left) leads the cast of “The Pitt.”

Is ‘the Pitt’ Legit?

UNH nursing professor tells us what’s Hollywood hype and what’s ER-real

“The Pitt” is HBO’s hit medical drama that’s earned rave reviews from viewers, and critical praise for its realism from ER doctors and nurses since it premiered last year.

But how ‘real’ is that realism we see on the hour-by-hour drama each week?

In the throes of its second season, we checked in with an expert — Pamela Kallmerten, UNH nursing professor — for the inside scoop on what the show gets right, and where it misses the mark.

First, a few misses: The ER staffing — “it’s very physician heavy,” Kallmerten notes, and not representative of an actual ER. Other unrealistic aspects: an episode showing a hospital admin coming into a busy emergency department to talk about patient satisfaction, and a storyline where a nurse gets punched by a patient and then is allowed to continue working the rest of her shift.

But, overall, Kallmerten agrees with others who’ve worked in ERs (she’s been a registered nurse since 1982) that the show gets a lot of it right.

She says the most authentic characters are Robby (Dr. Michael Robinavitch, played by Noah Wyle) and Dana (nurse Dana Evans, played by Katherine LaNasa) because “they think on their feet, and they’re excellent at prioritization and time management.”

Another reality? The characters’ use of gallows humor. “A sarcastic humor they use as a coping mechanism” is pretty common in real emergency departments, says Kallmerten.

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