Yes, a lot of stories, shows, and movies gloss over or fail to examine a lot of implications of the loss of modern-day healthcare, or use it as a convenient plot point at best. Two books that got it right (imho) are Alas, Babylon by Pat Frank and Lucifer's Hammer by Niven and Pournelle.
I used to be quite a fan of TEOTWAWKI fiction, but nowadays I tend to favor more hopeful escapism.
I liked Lucifer's Hammer. It was one of the first of a long list of 'end of the world scenarios' I have read over the years. I think what prompted that aside from an early love of science fiction was an early memory of drawing circles with my Dad on a map of MD and Washington D.C. with the compass point on the Mall. If the Cuban-launched missile hit on target and wasn't a short round, and was the size of warhead everyone thought they were, our bug out plan was to Virginia by boat...which, without thinking about traffic and other complications, would have been best...(long ago and far away, now I have a ringside seat for WWIII).
Good, realistic TEOTWAWKI fiction is thought provoking and can expose holes in any prepper's setup, knowledge, or gear. Plans, too, for that matter. If it is solid, chances are the story isn't going to be a pretty one. If someone is out for unicorns and rainbows, they'd be better off to join the Bronies.
But all that harsh reality exposes a few salient truths.. You might be able to survive somewhere isolated on your own for a while, but to rebuild or survive long term will take people working together. Like any building project, sometimes you need someone to hold the other end of the board.
Realistic thought will change the way you look at the people around you, maybe even the things you do with your spare time, or even just the way you light the campfire next time. All of these are opportunities for skill building, and some volunteer work can get you a first aid course or more and CPR under your belt as well. You also look hard at what tech you would be able to sustain on your own. It's a short list if you aren't going with 'old tech', are wealthy to get enough of something beforehand that people would want to take it from you, or aren't darned handy and already living off grid. Things we take for granted would be pretty much gone.
So you look at your skill set(s) and decide where you might want to go with that, too.
That said, I'm a lover of a good 'space opera' too...and happy endings are fun, as long as you put them in perspective.
I am ever reminded of Ashley Wilkes and the rest gathered together and going to go whup the yankees and be home for supper any time people talk of CWII. We would be foolish to not achieve our ends by peaceful means to restore the Republic, if at all possible, rather than to resort to the carnage for combatant and civilian alike that would inevitably result from armed conflict, but foolish to shrink from that if it is the only resort.
