Best Medical Movies that Healthcare Students Shouldn't Miss
August 5, 2014
Medical thrillers, comedies, and dramas make for compelling television and film, and have captivated audiences since the advent of the big and small screens. The best medical movies touch on concepts that are not only appealing to the mass audience, but also say something about medicine and healing that caregivers understand and recognize; they have an element of truth that's hard to ignore. With that in mind, let's take a look at some of the best medical movies that students in allied health and medicine are bound to enjoy.
Health officials work under pressure to battle a deadly outbreak, identifying an airborne virus and developing a vaccine. It looks at the impact of an outbreak on social order, and has a cast full of big names. Numerous scientists praised the accuracy of the film. A lot of the research come from interviews with representatives at the World Health Organization.
Idi Amin, a ruthless Ugandan dictator played by Forest Whitaker in a performance that won him the Academy Award for Best Actor, is the central character in the critically acclaimed The Last King of Scotland. Nicholas Garrigan, played by James McAvoy, is a Scottish physician working at a missionary clinic who comes to Amin's attention, partially due to Amin's love for Scotland. The new physician is asked to be Amin's personal doctor, and to help modernize the country's health system, but he becomes caught up in Amin's duplicitous schemes and intentions.
Robin Williams stars in this comedic-drama about a real life doctor who truly believes that laughter is the best medicine. Medical professionals say that it inspires them to connect with their patients more. It's truly a touching story that shouldn't be missed.
The real-life Patch Adams is an advocate for medical reform and an inspirational speaker, meeting with audiences around the globe.
Damanhur, Federation of Communities / flickr / CC BY-ND
Lorenzo's Oil is based on a true story about parents hoping to cure their son’s Adrenoleukodystrophy (ADL), a rare nerve disorder affecting the adrenal glands, nervous system and leydig cells. The talented cast includes Susan Sarandon, Nick Nolte, and Augusto Odone. Upon their son's diagnosis, the Odones are told there's no cure, their son will become disabled, and the disease is terminal. Even without a medical background, the parents devise a treatment from olive and rapeseed oil, calling it “Lorenzo’s Oil.”
MASH (later adapted to the massively popular TV sitcom) won an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay and was both a poignant portrait of a Mobile Army Surgical Hospital during the Korean War and a reflection of daily life in American health institutions. The story focuses on the comedic acts of wisecracking surgeons “Hawkeye” Pierce (Elliot Gould) and Duke (Donald Sutherland). Despite their demeanor, they are excellent combat surgeons, and the funniest scenes involve fights with the rigid, no-nonsense head nurse, Major Margaret “Hotlips” Houlihan (Sally Kellerman), and their tent mate, Major Frank Burns (Robert Duvall), a religious man, huge jerk, and incompetent doctor.
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest won five academy awards, including Best Actor for star Jack Nicholson (playing McMurphy) and Best Picture. It's the screen adaptation of the best selling novel by Ken Kesey; students in healthcare appreciate its insights into mental illness and the true meaning of what constitutes normal and abnormal human behavior. The subject matter, as well as the fact that the film's set was a real mental institution in Oregon, leads many in the medical community to believe that it helped bring about the advent of better anti-psychotics that help keep patients out of such institutions.
Jack Nicholson's portrayal of McMurphy is considered one of the strongest roles of his career.
douglemoine / flickr / CC BY-ND
A 2004 HBO movie, Something the Lord Made centers around the champions of modern heart surgery. Taking place in Nashville and Baltimore in the 1930s, it depicts the work of African-American carpenter Vivien Thomas (played by Mos Def) and his turbulent partnership with the chief surgeon at John Hopkins, the white doctor Alfred Blalock (Alan Rickman). Together, they work to save babies diagnosed with congenital heart defects, and are innovative thinkers in cardiology; they overcome racism in a time when southern hospitals were still segregated.
