The popularity of medical television (TV) dramas is well-established, and emergency
medicine educators are beginning to recognize the power of medical media to impact
public attitudes, beliefs, and expectations. Previous studies have shown that medical
dramas often depict the fictional physicians in questionable, outlandish or dangerous
scenarios [
[1]
,
[2]
]. However, it has also been noted that patients may view these dramas as credible
portrayals of medical interventions, thus leading them to view real-world doctors
as courageous [
[3]
]. TV dramas also tend to misrepresent typical patient demographics, medical problems,
diagnoses and mortality rates when compared to real life [
[4]
,
[5]
]. Issues with professionalism and the handling of bioethical conundrums are also
often represented on medical dramas. Studies have noted that many shows are rife with
departures from professional behavior and bioethical issues [
[1]
]. These programs may not necessarily portray consistently accurate or factual representations
about emergency medicine (EM) or its practitioners, and it is unclear what impact
they may have on public perceptions. To assess the possible effect of televised medical
dramas on the perceptions of the general public, we analyzed the interpersonal relations
and professionalism content of popular medical dramas on television.Keywords
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References
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- If you must be hospitalized, television is not the place: diagnoses, survival rates and demographic characteristics of patients in TV hospital dramas.Commun Res Rep. 2009; 26: 311-322
- ER vs. ED: a comparison of televised and real-life emergency medicine.J Emerg Med. 2012; 43: 1160-1166
- A flag in the wind: educating for professionalism in medicine.http://users.clas.ufl.edu/msscha/Readings/flaginthewind_professionalism_med.pdfDate: 2003Date accessed: May 27, 2020
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- Using medical drama to teach biomedical ethics to medical students.Med Teacher. 2010; 32: e205-e210
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Article Info
Publication History
Published online: June 01, 2020
Accepted:
May 28,
2020
Received:
May 27,
2020
Publication stage
In Press Journal Pre-ProofIdentification
Copyright
© 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
