The television show 24 went for eight seasons over nine years (one year was missed due to the writer’s strike, if I’m not mistaken). It was an action packed show that dealt with a single day in the life of Jack Bauer, as each season only happened over one 24 hour time frame. The entire series tackled only eight days, but each day was potentially years apart.
As this show dealt with a lot of hard hitting action, there was always a chance that CPR might come up at one time or another. Did they manage to correctly display CPR for the world to see? Well, there were a lot of episodes that featured CPR.
Here’s one from season 2, episode 9.
In a scene from season 7, episode 10, FBI Agent Renee Walker (played by Annie Wersching) attempts CPR on someone who they just pulled out of a truck before it exploded. Her arms are bent, not locked, and the compressions are shallow, not deep. Nor do the compressions come anywhere close to the 100 per minute rate that is supposed to be done.
CPR in Entertainment is a series based on rescue scenes found in both TV shows and movies. If you have a suggestion for a future entry, please comment below!
Comments
What about AEDS and their use in the field. One should be sure that their use is being shown properly and it cases where they would possibly work.
We in the healthcare industry have always noticed this faux pas . . . but seem to also forget the one glaring reason why: YOU CAN’T PERFORM CPR ON A SPONTANEOUSLY BREATHING HUMAN!
There are more “problems” with CPR displays in film and TV due to that simple fact. As a Simulation Specialist for the healthcare field, my mannikins are the only thing we can perform “real CPR” on (how many of us learned on a ResuciAnne?!) other than a patient in need. If I can get Hollyweird on board with that, maybe the general populace would “learn” from what they see on TV all the time. . .
Of course, if we taught CPR/First Aid every year in our school systems . . . I can dream, can’t I?! haha
Precisely, Will! That’s exactly what we’re talking about. We’d love to have CPR trained in our school systems on a nationwide, if not global, basis.