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Health

House and Grey's Anatomy: Doctors gone bad?

30 March 2010

Âé¶¹´«Ã½. Science news and long reads from expert journalists, covering developments in science, technology, health and the environment on the website and the magazine.

Doctor know-it-all

(Image: 20thC.Fox/Everett/Rex Features)

GREGORY HOUSE would never let a little thing like medical ethics stand in the way of curing a patient. But how bad are the bioethical lapses and unprofessional behaviour on medical dramas such as and ?

Matthew Czarny, a medical student and bioethics researcher at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, decided to find out. He watched a total of 46 episodes from the two series and tallied up bioethical and professional breaches, as well as examples of good practice.

The most common ethical issue, particularly in House, was obtaining proper…

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