The current landscape of television and movies in medical education

BACKGROUND: Using commercially available television and movies is a potentially effective tool to foster humanistic, compassionate and person-centred orientations in medical students. AIM: We reviewed pedagogical applications of television and movies in medical education to explore whether and why this innovation holds promise. METHODS: We performed a literature review to provide a narrative summary on this topic. RESULTS: Further studies are needed with richer descriptions of innovations and more rigorous research designs. CONCLUSION: As we move toward evidence-informed education, we need an evidence- based examination of this topic that will move it beyond a ‘show and tell’ discussion toward meaningful implementation and evaluation. Further exploration regarding the theoretical basis for using television and movies in medical education will help substantiate continued efforts to use these media as teaching tools. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi: 10.1007/s40037-015-0205-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.