diagnostic realism
3.9/5
ER
Season 1 Episode 3
Going Home
Going Home is best curated as two concrete medical threads: IPV injury and heart-attack management review. The leukemia and Alzheimer's beats are real episode content but too thin here for separate case cards without more scene evidence.
Air date: Sep 29, 1994
overall
4.0/5
procedure realism
3.8/5
workflow realism
4.0/5
Medical Cases in This Episode
These are the patient stories worth unpacking. Open any case for the real-world medicine, what the episode shows, what it leaves out, and source-backed context.
2 cases identified
Case 1
Mark Greene's Domestic Violence Patient
Mark treats a woman whose injuries point to partner violence, but she will not accept help.
- Episode shows
- Going Home's summaries state that Mark treats a woman who is a victim of domestic violence, and the ER Wiki synopsis specifies that she has obviously been beaten by her husband but will not agree to get help. The case is therefore about injury care plus safety...
- Clinical takeaway
- Emergency clinicians may be one of the few points of contact for a patient experiencing partner violence, but disclosure and immediate separation cannot be forced in the way TV sometimes implies.
Accuracy 4.2/5intimate-partner-violence-injurydomestic-violenceinjury-documentation
Case 2
Susan Lewis's Disputed Heart Attack Case
Susan clashes with Kayson after treatment of a heart attack victim goes badly.
- Episode shows
- Going Home's summaries identify a cardiac case involving Susan and Dr. Kayson; the ER Wiki synopsis states that Kayson disagrees with Susan's treatment of a heart attack victim and that the case later receives review. The episode evidence supports a heart-atta...
- Clinical takeaway
- Heart attack care is time-sensitive and evidence-driven; disagreement between clinicians needs structured escalation, documentation, and review because delay or wrong therapy can harm the patient.
Accuracy 3.7/5acute-myocardial-infarctionacute-coronary-syndromeecg
Episode Summary
Going Home brings Carol back to work while Mark treats a domestic violence patient, Susan faces scrutiny over a heart attack case, and Carter follows Benton through a demanding shift with an Alzheimer's patient and a leukemia patient in the background.
Differential Diagnosis and Testing Logic
Mark Greene's Domestic Violence Patient: A real clinician would treat injuries, speak with the patient privately, assess immediate danger, document findings carefully, offer advocacy resources, and follow local reporting rules. The supported episode evidence does not justify adding unshown tests, vitals, medications, timestamps, or final lab results.
Susan Lewis's Disputed Heart Attack Case: A real team would obtain ECGs, serial troponins, vital signs, medication contraindications, risk assessment, and cardiology input if reperfusion or catheterization decisions are uncertain. The supported episode evidence does not justify adding unshown tests, vitals, medications, timestamps, or final lab results.
Medical Accuracy Review
Mark Greene's Domestic Violence Patient: The episode recognizes that a clinician can identify danger and still be limited by the patient's safety, readiness, and autonomy. It compresses private screening, documentation, photography policies, social-work coordination, and the repeat nature of IPV intervention.
Susan Lewis's Disputed Heart Attack Case: The episode ties a conflict between physicians to a concrete patient outcome and case review. It does not provide enough source detail to evaluate the specific treatment choice, ECG findings, contraindications, or whether Kayson's objection was clinically correct.
Sources and Further Reading
Episode evidence: iDRief catalog page, ER Wiki - Going Home, TVmaze - ER 1x03 Going Home. Medical context: each linked case and topic includes patient-friendly or professional medical references for the real-world concept.