Teaching medicine through film: Wiseman's medical trilogy revisited

BACKGROUND: Between the late 1960s and early 1980s, Frederick Wiseman filmed hundreds of hours in an emergency department, intensive care unit and asylum. These films recorded events as they happened without rehearsal and narration. MAIN BODY: Cinema and Medicine meet each other in feature fiction film and in documentary format. Showing films in hospitals is revealing for both the unexpected audience but also the medical establishment. This paper revisits Wiseman’s edited but explicit films and their revelation of the complexity of care in this era in the United States. Although they offer a narrow view of medical institutions and the issue of informed consent later became problematic, the films provide an intriguing glimpse of US healthcare and decision making. These films are largely unknown but would be an invaluable resource in a masterclass on medical ethics in urgent care and end-of-life decisions. CONCLUSIONS: Despite their flaws, Wisemans’ medical films have a significant educational value. Each documentary can be used in a masterclass on medical ethics. The films provide ample opportunities to discuss core issues in healthcare, professional interactions, and decision making in critically ill patients.