Customer Reviews

Nova: MD the Making of a Doctor [VHS]

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I watched this documentary with my husband, who was considering attending medical school. Afterwards, even though we'd have lived a life full of large houses, prestige, BMWs, etc, he decided that the status would not be worth the sacrifice. I quite agree with him.

The video was exceptionally well made, showing how the utter intensity of internship and residency affects the lives of many different kinds of people. We watched many interviews with the students who were dazed with lack of sleep, divorce, and work weeks exceeding 100 hrs. Anyone interested in medical school should watch this for an indication of the challenges you will face.

As a third year resident, I was impressed by the realistic picture of the medical education process. There is no "Hollywood" glamourization of the process. This video should be mandatory viewing for pre-med students.

This video give a spectacular look into the life of a medical student from day one to the end of residency. It shows not only the tremendous workload that medical students endure, but also the mental breakdown that occurs, which affects many of them not only personally, but also socially as well. The NOVA people really did a fantastic job on this video. This really is as realistic as it gets and should leave you with no doubts as to what it will really be like in medical school.

This is a "must see movie" for those who inspire to be physicians. The documentary follows several medical students at the University of Harvard from year 1 to internship and residency. The documentary allows the viewer to experience what it is like to be a medical student. It captures the frustrations, fears, and joys of medical training. The documentary allows students to examine whether or not they are ready to take on the challenge of becoming a doctor of medicine.

To define this documentary in one word: amazing! As a senior undergraduate student, I watched this video as a pseodo-preparatory step for medical school. Prior to the video, I had only heard rumors of what medical school is like (like most of us)--long hours of studying, dealing with patients for the first time, etc. But not until this documentary, did these rumors get amplified to the mode of actualization.

I remember one Harvard student noted, "This experience has ingrained a great deal of humbleness within me (not direct quote)." That's right! In fact, this documentary has a way of scaring off potential doctors. Your intelligence is challenged to the core. But hey, you are dealing with people's lives here, as one Harvard student stated.

Overall, I felt this documentary was a great introduction into what it is really like to enter medical school. Some people say they are entering medical school for the aspiration of helping others--that is what makes them happy. But after this documentary, it will be realized that this naivity soon gets displaced by self-doubt. If helping people is enough to make you happy, then medicine is for you. If you can live without family, then medicine is for you. But if you don't have both of these two factors, you should seriously think about another career.

Although this movie pervades with pessimism, it is also filled with a great deal of truth. For all potential doctors and/or people interested in medicine, this movie is great catch.

This is an excellent video. It provides real insight into what exactly is involved in becoming a doctor. If you are an older non-traditional student (as I am) and you are returning to medical school, you should definitely see this video. Older students generally have more to lose by returning to school and it is a much bigger sacrifice. This is especially true if you are already succesful in your current career. This video shows the good and the bad of a medical education and in the end you are left with an understanding of the profound commitment and personal sacrifice that is required of anyone wishing to pursue medicine. It further highlights the sense of accomplishment that goes along with pursuing your dreams through the trials and tribulations of life. The theme of this video appears to me to be: through great sacrifice comes great reward. I highly reccommend this movie! Great job Nova!

This film was not made in 1974 - much more recent - 1992 or 1994 I believe. As all the reviews say, it is potently real. As a medical educator, I use this film to demonstrate the potential for reformation in the medical education process. The introduction says it all, "Follow seven medical students through seven GRUELING (emphasis added) years of medical school and residency - the making of a doctor."

There is evidence emerging that this form of "grueling" education may have some relationship to some of the issues we see in the practice of medicine relative to quality. Every medical educator should see this at least once. Particulary powerful is Jay Bonner's segment with his neurology professor.

I first saw this documentary when I was considering going to medical school. I watched it again when I was in medical school. I watched it a third time when I was an intern. And I just watched it again now that I am in my last year of residency during a night on call with one of my junior residents.
This is a wonderful set of videos.
When I first saw it I had no idea how accurately it portrays the process of medical training. Each time I see it, there are things the individuals state that resonate loud and clear with me. And each time I see it, they get louder and clearer. There are certain universal experiences in our training, and many of them are captured here on film. When I watched the video last month with my junior, she also found it to be a great collection.
I must say, one of the best parts was seeing one of our current (anesthesia) attendings nervously put in his first iv catheter. Of course, the first 3 times I saw the video, I had no idea I would ever meet anyone in it, let alone be instructed by one.
Anyway, suffice it to say this is a masterpiece, and I highly recommend it. Very well done.

being a student of Clinical Medicine,i recommend this documentary highly to all aspiring medics. i saw this documentary myself in Australia as a child quite by accident and it played a significant role in making my decision to enter the profession.

this documentary is a gritty look at the world of doctors and their training. those who are seeking glamourised versions or ER-type hollywood productions please be aware this is neither. this is a video of promise slyly contained in misery. this video shows you what its really like.

if you think medicine is about money, dont expect to see any doctors driving off in porsches or mercedes. if you think doctors acquire social standing, expect to see miserable faces, disastrous marriages, and a doctor being disrespected by a patient to the point of incontinence. if you think medicine is about swooping in to save the day, expect to see pre-op interviews with lively patients and then find them deceased a moment later. if you think this documentary is going to show you facinating surgical procedures, prepare to see grief-stricken medical students crying in the OT. however those who realistically expect promise from medicine will find that inner peace delicately laced throughout this production.

this is not a horror story but neither is it a fun filled adventure. instead it follows seven medical students from the prestigious Harvard Medical School, Boston, Mass. from their first day to specialisation. it focuses on the problems they need to overcome not on their successes.

what i learned from this documentary is that everything that we consider valuable personally to ourselves can be stripped away and entering a profession like medicine which is geared towards focussing on others, establishes a situation where this is likely to happen. medicine is a gamble but it is more so if you focus primarily on your own life. if what you care about most in this world are that things that matter to you, then you can lose them to the tough world of medicine. however if you what you care about most is the benefit of others then your loss will be compensated by the smiles you see on the faces of those you benefit from your work as a doctor.

if you feel like medicine is the career path for you, please take the time to watch this documentary. it will likely be the most satisfying or terrifying thing you will ever watch. you may realise medicine is not for you and save yourself some pain, or you may realise that you love the field despite being terrified by it and prepare yourself more appropriately for the rigours ahead. either way your development towards the field of medicine will be more profound after watching this documentary than any other medical item on TV.

EXCELLENT! This documentary is an incredible view of the real-life sacrifices some people make as they enter the fascinating world of medicine. Anyone considering a career in medicine should see this documentary.