Fox’s 9-1-1 series is beginning Season 2. The series is enjoyable, but there is some definite leeway the series takes when making certain field diagnosis.

In the first episode of the season, a man gets hit with an old artillery shell in his leg. As noted on the picture on the right, by simply shining a flashlight into the wound, the paramedic declares that his femoral artery has been severed. This could be more believable if there was even some mild pulsatile bleeding, even with a tourniquet in place, at the site which is characteristic for arterial bleeding.

Later in the episode, a picture of the wound is shown with a “live” shell in the anterior thigh. The fact that it is a live shell is made by a firefighter who is former military based on the color. I can’t comment on whether or not that’s true— I’m not military— but the team does make a decent choice (since the patient is stable) to not take him inside the hospital.

When the bomb squad gets there, they are able to take this sweet x-ray in the field. It is a plain, diagnostic x-ray. There is no way for an EMS crew to take an x-ray like this. Can the bomb squad? Yes. So the show is doing it’s due diligence by having the bomb squad perform this task. However, the bomb squad would not need the military to diffuse this— my law enforcement brother who used to work with the bomb squad verified this.

What other things have you seen shows diagnose in the field that they wouldn’t be able to do?