Top 7 TV shows for learning Medical English

We all know the feeling when we know we should be studying, but all we really want to do is watch TV! Well, why not do both at the same time? Lots of useful medical vocabulary and phrases can be learned from TV shows. From the classics that everyone talks about, to the little-known but excellent gems; in my opinion, the following shows are 7 of the best.

Scrubs

Cardiac Arrest

This show is not very well known, but is fully available on YouTube at the time of writing. This was written by a UK Doctor during the 1990s and is scarily accurate! Although it is now very dated, the acting and the drama is excellent. Although most of the actors speak clearly, this will test your listening skills for some of the northern accents with which you might not be very familiar. Overall I would really recommend this show for practice of real English as spoken in UK hospital

Grey’s Anatomy

I didn’t feel I could write a list of medical TV shows without mentioning Grey’s! A lot of my friends love it, although it is not very accurate and spends a lot of time on all the relationships between the doctors. However, if you like some drama and want some American medical English practice this show might be for you!

Doc Martin

I suggested this to some of my students who had already watched a lot of the “obvious” shows and they loved it! This show is about a surgeon who can’t cope with blood who becomes a family doctor in the English countryside. It’s not hugely realistic, but it can be amusing and includes lots of people speaking very clearly. It is also interesting to see the style of communication (although the comedy is that his style is not acceptable to the British public!).

Extreme A&E

This show was actually suggested to me by a student of mine. I subsequently watched some episodes and thought they were excellent! They are also currently available on YouTube. This is a documentary by a British Emergency doctor who visits Emergency Departments (often known as “A&E” for “Accident and Emergency” in the UK). Due to this being a documentary you will hear a lot of real medical dialogue. It is also very interesting to learn about the different approaches to trauma in different countries. Of course, lots of accents to help your listening practice as well!

House

House is another famous TV show from a few years ago. There are a lot of episodes, and they can be interesting from a medical point of view. You will also learn all of the vocabulary surrounding lupus!

Bizarre E.R.

Bizarre E.R. is absolutely perfect if you want to practise your medical English but you don’t have the time to watch a whole episode of a show. This is a documentary about British “A&E” departments but it is found on YouTube broken down into small clips of a few minutes each. It mostly focuses on unusual or humorous situations and includes LOADS of idioms.

That’s it!

So I hope you found this list has given you some ideas for TV shows that can help your learning! Also watch this space for further blogs about how to get the most out of different media to learn efficiently.

In the mood for some learning?

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