Sacha Levy’s unorthodox kindness: Holby City’s medicine and pedagogy

Holby City (1999–present) is a stalwart of British television media. Since its conception in 1999, the show has continued to attract contemporary audiences who tune in to passively, and passionately, experience turbulent battles between life and death. However, the locus of interest is not on the patients within Holby’s wings, but rather the staff themselves; it is their emotional, psychological and pedagogical development which spurs the plot forward and grips viewer attention. Through the use of medical pedagogy, Holby City becomes a drama of perpetual Bildungsromane, where relationships between peers, mentors and mentees are under consistent pressure. Furthermore, this pedagogy does not merely ensure Holby City’s series continuation but becomes a site of transformation, challenging preconceived ideologies of toxic masculinity. This is never more apparent than in the character of Sacha Levy (Bob Barrett), whose emotional availability, vulnerability and religious spirituality directly challenge concepts of the self-destructive ‘burnt-out’ male medic. This article explores the character of Sacha Levy in Holby City, demonstrating how the show’s writers engage actively in research to directly confront stereotypes of toxic masculinity and Jewish underrepresentation in the contemporary medical drama.

Surgeons, surgeries, and operating rooms in television medical series

The longest-running American prime-time television medical series, Grey’s Anatomy represents a society in which gender is not a potential career barrier in surgery. Focusing on an iconic scene of the series, this article brings media studies together with the history- and philosophy of surgery to provide a qualitative analysis of this portrayal on three levels: surgical procedure, protagonist, and place. Following previous studies on medical drama series, the theoretical framework of the article is cultivation theory. Some elements of the genre – like the realistic hospital setting and the authentic usage of medical jargon – might strengthen the likelihood of content cultivation. Finally, I discuss the potential positive and negative effects of the way how this popular series depict female surgical careers.

Neurosurgery in Contemporary Medical Dramas: How Grey's Anatomy & Co. May Affect Perception of Neurosurgery in the Media

Background Neurosurgery is a common topic in contemporary medical dramas. This study aimed to examine depictions of several neurosurgical diseases and techniques as well as the perception of the personality of neurosurgeons in the media, focusing on their impact on the physician-patient relationship. Methods TV series and movies with a main focus on neurosurgeons and/or neurosurgical diseases were identified by consulting the International Movie Database (IMDb). Results After investigation of many TV series and movies, we identified five main topics: vascular neurosurgery, neuro-oncology, neurointensive care, neurosurgical techniques, and neurosurgeon's personality. The portrayal of neurosurgery in medical drama is characterized to a large extent by sensationalism, a lot of misinformation, and an unfavorable portrayal of neurosurgeons, although it is assumed that expert advice was sought in advance of every production. Conclusions Considering the popularity of medical dramas and movies dealing with medical topics, we must consider the general public's picture of neurosurgery to be widely influenced by the media.

The Physician-Patient Relationship: How It Is Represented in Iranian National Television

Background: In modern-day medicine, there is plenty of evidence-based communication studies implying that good physician-patient communication provides better diagnosis and treatment, as well as patient satisfaction and compliance with the therapeutic plan. Medical educators who promote better communication to strengthen the physician-patient relationship believe that shared decision-making is the most favorable model after the era of paternalistic and consumeristic models as the dominant types of interpersonal communication between doctors and their patients. On the other hand, different media, especially medical dramas, if properly targeted, can be used as an educational tool for health workers and a cultural factor for the whole society to ameliorate the current difficulties in the physician-patient relationship. Objectives: Therefore, this study aimed to determine how the Iranian national TV medical drama represents the physician-patient relationship. Methods: We used a qualitative inquiry to analyze a medical drama about hospital affairs, named The Nurses, which was produced by the Iranian national television with the cooperation and sponsorship of Iran’s Ministry of Health and broadcasted as a two-season television drama in 46 episodes during 2016 - 2017. In this regard, all aspects of physician-patient communication were analyzed based on the thematic deductive content analysis method. Results: The study reviewed 46 out of 51 episodes. Each sene that represented the physician-patient relationship was analyzed based on a developed checklist. The checklist was prepared based on a literature review, and its content validity was approved by the medical ethics experts. Conclusions: The findings of this study showed that this medical drama paradoxically represented the paternalistic model of the physician-patient relationship that was inconsistent with the formal views of Iranian authorities.

Mostly, do no harm: Representations of morality in the television medical drama The Resident

Television programmes continue to impart ‘narratives, consumer choice’ and ‘moral predispositions’, although there is conjecture among scholars over the influence of television on the formation of a moral viewpoint in audiences. These components allow consumers to evaluate the content of television shows in the light of their own cultural understandings of morality and then either accept or reject them. This article uses thematic analysis to reveal patterns in the representations of moral ambiguity in the first season of the television show The Resident (2018–present), a contemporary US-based television series that is broadcast to global audiences in a number of international territories. The series explores the intricacies of hospital management, patient care and medical ethics particularly in light of increasing commercial pressures within a US context. Our analysis shows that the series grapples with four main themes: do no harm, experts and egos, money muddies morality and good versus evil, and in doing so, interrogates the basis of implicit knowledge about right, wrong and individual responsibility in western culture.