[dixie sass]

I hate to tell you, but er is just about as real as it can be on tv. If any of you have ever been to places like Cook County General, such as Grady Hospital, MUSC, or any large hospital where most of the people coming through are the lower to low middle classes, you will find the exact same traumas, illnesses etc. The only problem is you won't really know it because you are going to be on the outside looking in and not part of the lives of the doctors and nurses and techicians etc., etc.,

Just remember one thing, this show is written by a doctor and is also noted for hiring personnel who are also nurses, doctors, technician, rn's, lpn's, etc...

[Chemist_Geek]

Well, I agree to a point. ER is medically pretty darn close to reality. However, the characters do tend to play pretty loose with the rules (of ethics, HR law, etc.). Also, as many others on the thread note, the scripts are somewhat liberal preachy.