Hospital dramas are a popular television genre, but do they paint an accurate picture of the patient experience? A recent study conducted by the University of Arizona has found that, although the procedures and storylines depicted in these series are quite often at odds with reality, hospital patients in the real world nevertheless build up their expectations according to what they have seen in them. The study reveals that patients' feelings of dissatisfaction with their hospital experience often stem from unrealistic scenes witnessed in the TV dramas. For example, many admitted to hospital expect to be rushed immediately into an operating room because this is what happens in the shows. In reality, patients often have to wait hours before being seen by a specialist, let alone before being sent for surgery. In dramas, fictional patients also recover much more quickly than is realistic. On TV, 50 per cent of patients are discharged within one week, whereas, in genuine hospitals, the average rate is closer to 20 per cent. This shouldn't be surprising: dramas rely on unusual and interesting occurrences to keep audience attention, so long waits and stable conditions do not make for good television. However, because the dramas are filmed in realistic hospital settings, viewers tend to believe that they are being shown authentic processes which model what they can expect when they themselves become patients.