An ER Doctor Told Me the One Thing They Got Wrong in 'The Pitt'

What's up, Croc?

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Published May 1, 2025

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Warrick Page/Max

I have a friend—I won’t name him, because HIPAA (is that how it works?)—but he's an ER doctor who’s been working in the field for over a decade. He’s calm under pressure, freakishly smart and doesn't faint upon hearing the word "degloving." Of course, after watching a couple episodes of The Pitt, basically E.R. 2.0, I had to ask the doc one very important question: "What kind of shoes are you all wearing?"

The doctor's response? Crocs.

If there's one thing you should know about me, it's that I've been team Crocs for a long time. Back in 2006, when Gen Z was toddling around and Gen Alpha was just a figment of their parents' imaginations, I was indoctrinating the dental office I worked at with the advent of an ugly but comfortable foam shoe. In 2019, I traipsed around NYC wearing only Crocs for a week to the shock (and delight) of many onlookers. Today, no one would look twice at your platform rainbow Crocs be-Jibbitzed to the nines. Celebrity and designer Croc collabs have earned the shoe brand major cultural capital, but the fact remains that Crocs has been tied to the medical industry for a long time, and during the Covid outbreak, the brand donated 100,000 pairs to healthcare workers.

A still from 'The Pitt' with Dr. Robbie wearing a supportive black sneaker. (Photo: Warrick Page/Max)

The point is, Crocs and healthcare workers are tight. But despite how comfortable and mainstream they are now, understandably, some folks won't wear them. "What other shoes are popular in the ER?" I asked my friend. "On is super popular right now, and any cushioned, supportive running shoe like Nike, Brooks, Hokas. There's a few people wearing more traditional clogs like Dansko."

'The Pitt''s Dr. Langdon holding a pair of Nikes. (Photo: Warrick Page/Max)

"What about barefoot shoes?" I asked because I noticed that when Dr. Santos dropped a scalpel accidentally into Dr. Garcia's foot, the insert reveals the doctor is wearing Vivobarefoot Primus Lite. Knife in the foot aside, the shoe is designed to mimic the experience of walking or running barefoot while still providing some protection from, say, dropped scalpels?

A still from 'The Pitt' showing Dr. Garcia wearing Primus Lite Knit shoes with a scalpel slicing through (Photo: Max)

Long, stressful 12-hour shifts in a hectic environment mean that ER workers are thinking less about style and more about surviving the floors. Plus, Crocs are easy to sanitize. As to whether or not a Croc could survive a scalpel drop, unclear.

So while The Pitt nails a lot—the clipped doctor speak, the beeping chaos, the emotional numbness layered over sudden, devastating tenderness, waiting room monsters—if they really want to get portray realism, hook the actors up with some Crocs and compression socks.

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Dara Katz

Executive Editor

Lifestyle editor and writer with a knack for long-form pieces
Has more than a decade of experience in digital media and lifestyle content on the page, podcast and on-camera
Studied English at University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

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