Doctors on Screen: How Medical Dramas Influence Early Career Doctors

Introduction: Medical dramas are an increasingly popular form of entertainment worldwide. They depict intense decision making, hospital team dynamics, and also ethical dilemmas. For doctors in their early career, such portrayals may influence professional identity, affect specialty interests and even work place behaviour. 
Methods: We conducted a descriptive cross sectional survey in February 2025 among 120 early- career doctors (interns, resident house officers and registrars) at the National Hospital of Sri Lanka. A piloted anonymous questionnaire was used to collect demographic details, viewing patterns, self-reported influence on career orientation and behaviour. Descriptive statistics and chi squared tests were used for data analysis. 
Results: Participants’ mean age was 29 years (SD=2.3); and 54.2% were females. Most (79.2%) were regular viewers, out of which 68.2% were first exposed to medical dramas during undergraduate training. 33.3% reported that medical dramas had influenced their specialty interest. Behavioural modelling, particularly in communication and reasoning was reported by 30.8%, more often among surgical than non-surgical trainees (40.0% vs 21.7% p=0.04). No association was found between viewing frequency and final specialty choice (p=0.7).  Majority (78.3%) felt inspired and motivated by these programmes. 
Conclusion: Medical dramas may not directly determine career paths, but potentially foster specialty interest and shape aspects of clinical behaviour. Guided reflection within the medical curriculum could help ensure that such influences are realistic and ethical.