CPR As Taught by Sitcom “The Office”

The episode, entitled “Stress Relief” goes a little something like this; Dwight, tries to teach a lesson to his fellow staff members.  It inevitably backfires. Something crazy happens, in this case, beloved coworker, Stanley, suffers a heart attack. Dwight's safety officer position is stripped.  What happens next? Michael Scott arranges a cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training session for employees. The result? Almost exactly ten years after airing the episode, Cross Scott uses what he observed, to save a woman - in real life.

Now, while there is the lovely coincidence of these two characters sharing the same last name - Michael Scott, played by Steve Carell, is fictional; while 21-year old Cross Scott of Tucson Arizona is real.

Cross Scott happened to watch the episode  “Stress Relief” of The Office. Obviously, this episode did not provide real CPR training - but that did not stop Cross from applying what he had learned.  Beginning with seeing a woman in her car slumped over the steering wheel, Cross decided he had to do something. He broke into the car and began to conduct CPR - the way he had seen it done on The Office.  Including the charming detail of singing the song “Stayin’ Alive” by the Bee Gees in order to maintain the appropriate rhythm while administering chest compressions.

After about a minute of administering chest compressions, the woman began to breathe again. Paramedics arrived and took over from there. 

A few points to take note of from this story:

1. The characters from The Office - Michael Scott, Dwight, Stanley - they aren’t real.  
2. It’s hard to separate reality from the fiction presented on television and consequently just how important it is for the entertainment industry to represent accurate health information. Particularly because people may not have been otherwise exposed to actual information.
3. There are a lot of people out there, like Cross Scott, that have not sought out traditional life-saving skills and training like CPR.

We don’t get to choose if and when we have an emergency that requires skills and training like CPR.  We rarely have the convenience of being close to emergency services, hospitals or the like. It’s scary knowing that the chances of your survival during a potential emergency are completely dependent on the skills and training of the (likely) strangers present.

This begs the question, why isn’t CPR training more available at the most basic levels for the sake of public safety?  Why isn’t it taught in public school? Why isn’t it offered at work? Sure, it costs a little to invest in the safety and well-being of children, loved ones and even the perfect stranger.  Isn’t it worth it, though? If all it takes is simply registering for a CPR course to potentially save someone's life…

The fact that the writers of The Office had the good sense to provide sufficient real guidance as to what to do in an emergency situation, well it’s a true blessing.  The result is that a woman's life was saved. The world of TV actually helped, this time. Let’s not go crazy though, not all skills and training can be provided by Dunder Mifflin.