In-house medical education: redefining tele-education

Hip and tech-savvy medical students and junior doctors are likely to find lecture-based professionalism and ethics modules boring. Medical-based television dramas and films, on the other hand, are exciting and topical, and often feature real-life situations, albeit presented with artistic license. Current "hot" television series, such as House, ER, and Grey's Anatomy, feature scenarios which are thought-provoking, not only for the fascinating cases featured, but also for the ethical dilemmas and professionalism issues which present themselves.

We discuss the educational merits of the genre of the medical drama and propose to develop an "In-House" Medical Education Initiative, in which an episode of House is shown, and participants encouraged, at the end of the screening, to discuss the following: ethics, professionalism (communications skills, confidentiality, sensitivity, and empathy), history taking and clinical examination, diagnostic steps and mis-steps, and finally learning points (or take-home messages).

Television programs, purported to "rot the mind," can actually be put to good use in the teaching of "soft skills" in medicine.