Top 10 Doctor Movies

One of my social media buddies recently challenged me to share my "Top 10 Emergency Doctor Movies."  Although I could not rattle off ten movies that have an emergency doc as the main character, I did come up with 10 of my favorite doctor movies.  My favorite "doctor movie" is based on the true story of an emergency doc in a busy urban ED who could not get a specialist to take care of a critical patient.  (Sound familiar?  It's a way of life for many of my colleagues.)  The movie stars Joe Mantagne, and depicts the choices that face emergency physicians every day - choices made without enough information and without a crystal ball.

Here is my list:

1.  State of Emergency

      1994  (Joe Mantegna)

2.  M*A*S*H*

      1970

3.  The Elephant Man

      1980

4.  Beyond Borders

      2003

5.  Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner

      1967

6.  And The Band Played On

      1993

7.  Spellbound

      1945

8.  Miss Evers’ Boys

      1997

9.  Flatliners

      1990

10.  The Hospital

      1971

Honorable mention:  What About Bob?  (1991)

A parting thought:  As one of a generation of emergency doctors who grew up with Hawkeye Pierce for a hero, let me say that he COULD have been an ER doc, but was created one war too early.

Happy Holidays to all!