Medical fiction is fiction whose events center upon a hospital, an ambulance staff, or any medical environment. It is highly prevalent on television, especially as medical dramas, as well as in novels.
The depiction of medical institutions and their staff has been considered important both for the influence it has on the perception of their real counterparts, and the role it can play in medical education.[1][2][3] Through their personal or collective experiences with specific diseases, medical institutions, and health professionals, the audience can relate to the situations depicted in medical fiction, contributing to the success of the genre. This familiarity with the subject matter requires a degree of realism in order "to avoid misinterpretations or false ideas about the medical institutional or professional practice".[1][4]
Medical fiction also allows "the illustration and discussion of ethical dilemmas that are frequently not raised for reasons of discretion, embarrassment, or fear of retribution" in the scientific community.[5]
The Babyland General Hospital is a different type of fiction in the form of an actual building, where the procedure of birth and adoption is played out with Cabbage Patch Kids dolls in a converted former hospital.[6][7][8]
Alternatively, the term may refer to Narrative Medicine—stories written by medical professionals to help foster empathy and humanize the practice of medicine.[9]
- ^ a b Comelles, Josep M.; Brigidi, Serena (2014). "Fictional encounters and real engagements: the representation of medical practice and institutions in Medical TV shows". Actes d'història de la ciència i de la tècnica. 7 (7): 17–34. doi:10.2436/20.2006.01.182. Retrieved January 6, 2022.
- ^ Stinson, Mary Elizabeth; Heischmidt, Kenneth (2012). "Patients' perceptions of physicians: a pilot study of the influence of prime-time fictional medical shows". Health Marketing Quarterly. 29 (1): 66–81. doi:10.1080/07359683.2012.652579. PMID 22416926. S2CID 13483705.
- ^ Hoffman, Beth L.; Hoffman, Robert; Wessel, Charles B.; Shensa, Ariel; Wood, Michelle S.; Primack, Brian A. (2018). "Use of fictional medical television in health sciences education: a systematic review". Advances in Health Sciences Education. 23 (1): 201–216. doi:10.1007/s10459-017-9754-5. PMID 28083814. S2CID 46842723.
- ^ Collee, John (April 10, 1999). "Medical fiction: Should be accurate, but need not be didactic". British Medical Journal. 318 (7189): 955–956. doi:10.1136/bmj.318.7189.955. PMC 1115404. PMID 10195950.
- ^ Djerassi, Carl (June 11, 1998). "Ethical discourse by science-in-fiction" (PDF). Commentary. Nature. 393 (6685): 511–513. Bibcode:1998Natur.393..511D. doi:10.1038/31088. PMID 9634224. S2CID 4778534. Retrieved January 17, 2022.
- ^ "Cleveland's Cabbage Patch Kids turn 25". AccessNorthGA.com. 2008-09-07. Retrieved January 31, 2022.
- ^ Williams, Joy (2001). "The Case Against Babies". In Ratner, Rochelle (ed.). Bearing Life: Women's Writings on Childlessness. Feminist Press. pp. 78–79. ISBN 1-55861-275-0.
- ^ Vollmer, Matthew (2014). "This World Is Not Your Home". Ploughshares. 40 (4): 127–140. doi:10.1353/plo.2014.0067. hdl:10919/107207. S2CID 161722863.
- ^ Johna, Samir; Rahman, Simi (2011). "Humanity before Science: Narrative Medicine, Clinical Practice, and Medical Education". The Permanente Journal. 15 (4): 92–94. doi:10.7812/TPP/11-111. ISSN 1552-5767. PMC 3267572. PMID 22319427.