Medical paternalism in House M.D. February 8, 2009
Posted by Dr. Bertalan Meskó in Fun, Health, Healthcare, House, MD, Medicine.trackback
Ewa Dobrogowska shared this interesting article with us on Twitter. I didn’t think I would ever see House, M.D. in a publication:
Medical paternalism in House M.D.
Mark R Wicclair, Center for Bioethics and Health Law, University of Pittsburgh
The popular television series House M.D. is drawn upon to provide a critical examination of medical paternalism and how it is presented in the show. Dr Gregory House, the character named in the title of the series, is a paradigm of a paternalistic physician. He believes that he knows what is best for his patients, and he repeatedly disregards their wishes in order to diagnose and treat their illnesses. This paper examines several examples of medical paternalism and the means used to portray it favourably in the series. It is argued that the positive depiction of medicalpaternalism in the fictional world of the series does not apply in the real world. The paper also considers why a show that features a paternalistic physician who so blatantly flouts mainstream medical ethics might appeal to health professionals and members of the general public.
Further reading:
- Television shows teach communication skills in internal medicine residency
- House M.D., quotes, research and a weird video
- House, MD: The Best Bloopers!
- House, MD in different languages
What’s next, a paper about James Bond and the recklessness of international law enforcement?
[...] Dr. House (via ScienceRoll) a “paradigm of a paternalistic physician,” who, “repeatedly disregards their [...]
[...] Dr. House (via ScienceRoll) a “paradigm of a paternalistic physician,” who, “during again disregards their [...]
more dictatorial than paternalistic…not quite the co-consultant in care one has in mind for the self-empowered patient of Medicine 2.0