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The softer side: Women doctors on TV

Observations. By Bonnie Booth, amednews staff. April 16, 2001.

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When the television show "M*A*S*H*" premiered on Sept. 17, 1972, the doctors were all male and the nurses were all female. The comedy was set during the Korean War, after all, and in the 1950s, few women were physicians.

Now, nearly 50 years after the Korean War ended and nearly 30 years after the premier of "M*A*S*H*," the gender breakdown of the physician work force has changed. Female physicians constitute nearly 25% of the total number of doctors in this country, and this year more than 40% of medical school graduates are women. They are establishing private practices, working shifts in hospital emergency departments, delivering babies, performing surgeries and teaching medical students.

In general, television has acknowledged the trend. Medical shows created in the past few years have at least some female doctors.

Drs. Kerry Weaver, Elizabeth Corday and Deb Chen work side-by-side with Drs. Mark Green, Peter Benton and John Carter in the overly chaotic emergency department that serves as the setting for "ER" -- NBC's long-running drama.

Drs. Dana Stowe and Luisa Delgado run the Rittenhouse Women's Health Center on "Strong Medicine," Lifetime network's freshman drama. The main male characters are the hospital administrator, Dr. Robert Jackson, and nurse Peter Riggs. The only semi-prominent practicing male physician on the show is a doctor who does double duty as Dr. Stowe's love interest. Hey, it's "television for women"; you'd expect women to be center stage.

ABC's first-year drama "Gideon's Crossing" seems to have a bit more trouble integrating female physicians as regulars. Although the show started out with two female residents in its cadre of nine main characters, it is down to one -- Dr. Ollie Klein. [...]