The C.S.I. (and E.R.) Effect

Here's a great post by Public Brewery about the so-called "C.S.I. Effect," which refers to the social impacts of the C.S.I. television series and other forensics shows. One impact of these shows seems to have been an increased interest in forensics as a college major and career. Another impact--albeit an unproven and controversial one--is the influence that these shows have had on juries. There is anecdotal evidence that these shows have led some jurors to have unrealistic expectations about the role that forensic evidence should play in court cases.

Similar types of social impacts--both positive and negative--have also been discussed in relation to medical shows such as E.R. On the one hand, medical professionals have praised the show for raising public awareness about the field of emergency medicine and for leading to an increased public interest in E.R. medicine as a profession. Many nurses have also praised the show for showing their profession in a positive light.

At the same time, some medical professionals have critiqued E.R. and other medical shows for presenting an unrealistic expectations of ER medicine. In fact, several studies have been conducted in both Britain and the U.S. showing that the success rates of Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) on medical shows such as E.R. are greater than the actual success of this procedure in real life. In light of these studies, some medical professionals (but not all) worry that the public will have unrealistic expectations regarding the extent to which doctors can save patients in such life-threatening situations.

Here's an interesting article about the bioethics of E.R.'s depiction of CPR and other procedures. It was written by medical student Anthony Mazzarelli.

I'm not sure what to think about the effects of shows such as C.S.I. or E.R. They definitely make interesting teaching topics. In my Health and Media class. the issue of E.R.'s impacts always leads to interesting discussions, and in Spring 2006, I'll be discussing the C.S.I. Effect with students in my Science, Politics, and Media class. Public Brewery and I are also considering writing a journal article about the C.S.I. Effect. This summer we have become C.S.I. junkies, so we talk about this issue a lot.