Playing doctor on TV: physician portrayals and interactions on medical drama, comedy, and reality shows

Based on genre theory, this quantitative content analysis compares physician portrayals, behaviors, and patient-centered communication practices in 2,658 scenes from medical drama (Grey's Anatomy), comedy (Scrubs), and reality (New York Med) shows. Significant differences among the programs' portrayals of television doctors notwithstanding, the overall results indicate that Black, women, and younger physicians were over-represented while Asian, Hispanic, international, and older physicians were under-represented. Further, the reality show portrayed fewer negative behaviors and more patient-centered communication practices than the comedy or drama. As the first comparative analysis to include a medical comedy and to parse programs by scene instead of episode, the results provide important implications for genre-specific cultivation effects. Moreover, the results identify particular issues in physician portrayals that television producers may use as suggestions for improving programming and that medical educators may use to teach patient-centered communication practices.