Respiratory Therapy 101: Just Keep Breathing

I think we all know that the mass media has a tendency to skew information. I try not to put too much stock into anything that the media tells us because most of the time it is either factually inaccurate or deliberately skewed. This is especially true when it comes to medicine in the media.

Reporting on medicine in the media tends towards two types: there is the “minor threat that will steal, kill and eat your children” coverage such as the recent hubbub about MRSA; and there is the “research that reached tenuous conclusions after years and years of study and review that will be boiled down to a probably inaccurate 32-second blurb.” Another common type of medical reporting is the “inspiring story about a guy who overcame something,” but this story style seems to be on the down-and-out with the recent trend away from anything positive and towards shock and raw emotion in the media. As usual, The Onion manages to capture all of this remarkably well in a perfect little piece of satire entitled Man Lives Thanks to Heart Stolen From Dead Man.

It’s just a matter of time until Good Morning America is doing this. Mark my words.