By Anthony Brutico, DO 
From the emergency room to television, it certainly was an interesting journey. As an emergency physician, I have a lot of patient stories. Some are sad, some will bring a smile to your face and others leave you wondering what the patient was thinking. “Untold Stories of the ER” is a TV show that highlights all of the stories that make you ask “what was the patient thinking?” I must say that I had never watched the show before, and I assumed, like most ED physicians, that we tend to shy away from medical drama because we live and breathe it every day.
The First Stages
I submitted three cases. They liked the cases I provided, and one in particular made the cut for the show. One of the show’s scouts called me and asked me to do a quick interview via Skype. The producers wanted to see how animated I was and to see if I had “radio face.”
After completing the interview, they turned my two-page case summary into a script for the show. The process took roughly two weeks to finish and I was mailed multiple versions of the script to check for medical appropriateness. To make the case entertaining for television, they spiced up the drama. The patients were younger and were trying to go on a second honeymoon, and what the patient took for his aliments also was altered. The main points of the case, however, remained the same, and the show wanted to stay true to the medicine of the case. Unfortunately the amount of “medicine” seen for a dissecting aortic aneurysm is limited from the ER perspective, but the case had some excitement, drama, and twists and turns that made it into the ninth season. You’ll have to watch the episode to see what happens, but here’s a preview – the husband initially was my patient, but then his wife also needed medical attention when she heard his diagnosis!
Filming in Canada
One of the perks of being chosen to appear on the show was they arranged all travel and flew me to Vancouver. They even worked around my schedule as they understand the demands of emergency medicine.
It was a great trip, and Vancouver was beautiful. I got to spend some time in the Gastown region of Vancouver, which has interesting restaurants, bars and shops. I didn’t appreciate the time change much, which I assume is due to the reality of emergency medicine work schedules.
The next day, we arrived onsite to see the set and practice a “table read” with the actors and director. The set is actually an abandoned psychiatric hospital that the show rents from the government. The 3rd floor is renovated to look like an ER, complete with fake computer terminals, phones, tracking board and other props. It’s a convincing set. The production crew films in different sections of the set and moves props around to make it look like a different hospital on each episode.
My director was Allan Harmon, who has worked on directing and assistant directing movies such as “Police Academy” and “American Pie Presents: The Book of Love.” He was a lot of fun to work with and was patient with physicians who never acted a day in their lives.
Lights, Camera, Action!
After the table read and the set walkthrough, it was back to the hotel for a night of good sleep and an early start at 7 a.m. for filming. We arrived and received a miniature version of the script for reference. Then it was off to hair and makeup and wardrobe. I brought my own scrubs, so they just pressed them, and the makeup girls prettied me up as much as they could, but they respected their limitations.
The shoot took 13 hours! We did scenes in an order different from the normal show progression, mainly due to the use of paid actors and set setup. We started in the CT scan room, which threw me off because as far as the script goes, we were starting on page 14. Each scene had required 2-5 takes, usually starting with a practice take and then filmed ones afterward. I remember them taking the script away from me because I wanted to bring it in the scene.
“Action!” the director yelled after the clack of the clapperboard in my face. And we were off. I had to be convincing, show a feel of urgency and concern, and never look at the camera. The hired medic and I were on hand to make sure the IVs, EKG leads and other small props looked authentic and were used properly. Makeup artists kept touching up my face and production assistants handed out water and pieces of candy bars to keep us hydrated and alert. It was definitely not a bad way to spend a day!
The Final Product
After it was all over, I got to see some of the takes that were recorded, got some food and headed back home. I got a few promo shots and as of the time I wrote this blog, I still haven’t seen the show! As far as some PR for the show, I also agreed to do “The Juice,” a morning TV talk show in New Jersey, to discuss some ER stories and mistake that ED patients make.
Interested in Being on the Show?
Untold Stories of the ER is a docudrama that airs on Discovery Fit Health and TLC. The show features real emergency doctors telling their most bizarre and puzzling case. All cases are based on actual events, but are highly dramatized. Barring exceptional cases where the patient themselves are involved, specifics regarding the hospital and the patient and the case are changed to protect everyone’s privacy, so consent from the hospital or the patients is not required.
To submit a case for consideration, email a short description of each story you’d like to share to Ann Hassett at ahassett@mac.com.
Anthony Brutico, DO, is the assistant director of the emergency department at Newton Medical Center, Newton, N.J. Dr. Brutico received his medical degree from Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine, and completed his residency at Memorial Hospital of York.
The show airs August 29 on Discovery Fit Health at and Mid-October on TLC.
