Film Response Report: Doctors’ Diaries Documentary and Healthcare

This report provides a film response to the documentary 'Doctors' Diaries,' which follows the lives of graduate medical students at Harvard University. The analysis explores the stressful experiences, training, and education of future doctors, highlighting the challenges they face in becoming clinical doctors in the United States. The response examines concepts such as the importance of patient-centered care, effective communication among medical colleagues, and the impact of religious perceptions of diseases on healthcare. The report discusses the evolution of doctors' skills, the significance of communication in maintaining patient safety, and the psychological challenges faced by medical students. The conclusion reflects on the themes of learning, experience, and the pressures faced by medical professionals. The report references several academic sources and provides an overview of the documentary's key themes and insights into the medical field.

Running head: FILM RESPONSE
Film Response
Name of student:
Name of university:
Author Note:

1FILM RESPONSE
Introduction
Doctors’ Diaries is a documentary record of the lives of graduate medical students
from Harvard University. The movie captures the stressful mental states of the graduate
medical students during their course progression and establishes the hurdles that a medical
student faces to become a clinical doctor in the United States. Throughout the movie, the past
and present life scenario of the medical students and how their experiences change with
time.The movie entails the kind of training and education that is required to teach biomedical
medicine. The movie provides different topics of discussion related to health care
(Elsaesser&Hagene, 2015).
Concept 1
In the movie, the doctors were taught to treat patients from a scientific and
technological background; the other perspectives to attend to a patient needs were not taught,
such as emotional, cultural and psychological perspectives. The doctors were better at
managing every aspect during their course of study. However, spending more time with the
patients and understanding their ailments led to increased improvement of health status of the
patients, when compared to the situation where doctors neglected spending time with patients
and were busy in only treatment options (Sinskyet al., 2016).
Concept 2
While watching the movie, potential topics of discussion are considered and insightful
things are taken. The movie helps to develop a sense of medical perspective of how it feels
like to become a medical student researching in the path of medicine. The movie shows how
the doctors who have just begun their profession, are taught biomedical models of medicine.

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The movie helps to develop the concept of how the doctors change over time in relation to
the educational skills and their application to deliver patient care (Robinson &Jolly, 2013).
Concept 3
The movie Doctors’ Diaries captures how the diseases are interpreted and perceived
by other religions in other places. The doctors in the movie try to avoid acknowledging the
religious perception of diseases.In many instances throughout the movie, it has been shown
that the doctors were not aware of how to respond to the patients. The concept here raises the
question as to whether acknowledging the religious perception of diseases would lead to
betterment of the health status of the patient and also lead to faster recovery. The movie
shows that the hospitals have some kind of affiliated roles to a religious perspective,
however, many such hospitals do not include such a universal affiliation and
acknowledgement towards religious perception of diseases.
Understanding of health communication
From the movie, it is understood that the communication among medical colleagues
and health care delivery is important to maintain patient safety. The doctors develop
communication skills to coordinate with other colleagues so as to deliver transparent care and
services to important health (Goyder et al., 2015).
Health communication:
This video is an excellent example of the entire journey of a medical student to
becoming a doctor engaged in clinical practice (Youtube.com, 2019). Although,
communication is a key process which helps the medical care providers or professionals
maintain their psychosocial wellbeing. Communication between the care professionals and
the care recipients is also of vital importance, which not only eases the development of a

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mutually respectful and frank relationship, but also helps in ensuring utmost patient safety
and patient centred care.
Provider perspective:
In the entire review of the journey depicted beautifully in the documentary, the
different medical students have focussed on how the first year of medical school is the most
difficult and challenging experience for them and how it can easily destabilize the
psychological equilibrium of the students (Youtube.com, 2019). The main idea while
representing the experience of the medical professionals is the overwhelming stress and
challenges, especially in the first couple of years in the degree. The students as providers
realize the profession will always be associated stress and many challenges, but there is need
for therapeutic training for the medical students and staff, so that they can learn techniques to
overcome the stress and not let the impact alter their skills and performance (Fares et al.,
2016).
Conclusion
It can be concluded from the movie that the documentary record of seven medical
doctors who have just stepped into the medical profession, develop through learning and
experience, timely experience exhausts these doctors. The views on alternative medicines
from different religious perspectives are highlighted in the movie.

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References
Elsaesser, T., &Hagener, M. (2015). Film theory: An introduction through the senses.
Routledge.
Goyder, C., Atherton, H., Car, M., Heneghan, C. J., & Car, J. (2015). Email for clinical
communication between healthcare professionals. Cochrane Database of Systematic
Reviews, (2).
Fares, J., Al Tabosh, H., Saadeddin, Z., El Mouhayyar, C., &Aridi, H. (2016). Stress, burnout
and coping strategies in preclinical medical students. North American journal of
medical sciences, 8(2), 75.
Robinson, A., & Jolly, J. (Eds.). (2013). A century of contributions to gifted education:
Illuminating lives. Routledge.
Sinsky, C., Colligan, L., Li, L., Prgomet, M., Reynolds, S., Goeders, L.,&Blike, G. (2016).
Allocation of physician time in ambulatory practice: a time and motion study in 4
specialties. Annals of internal medicine, 165(11), 753-760.
Youtube.com (2019). Nova - Doctors' Diaries: Part 1 of 2 (PBS Documentary). [Online].
Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cECIp4hOeI4. [Accessed on 16th
Feb]