CODE BLACK and the Television Doctor Paradox: Popular and Powerless in the 21st Century

Ryan McGarry, MD, clinical instructor of emergency medicine at Cornell University and executive producer of Code Black, will deliver a special presentation, “CODE BLACK and the Television Doctor Paradox: Popular and Powerless in the 21st Century,” at noon on Tuesday, May 24, in Scaife Hall, Lecture Room 6. Dr. McGarry, an alumnus of Pitt’s School of Medicine, where he was president of the Class of 2009, will discuss how the CBS medical drama series Code Black and other television dramas can harbor significant educational worth beyond entertainment value. He will share clips and behind-the-scenes material to demonstrate how viewer interaction with the show can expand public health knowledge and influence health habits. Dr. McGarry will analyze how physicians formerly held greater influence over the content of broadcast medical programs and how they might reclaim it in wake of shifting public attitudes and a new media landscape.

Dr. McGarry has had a lifelong interest in filmmaking, which he demonstrated while studying at the School of Medicine. During his emergency medicine clerkship at Los Angeles County General Hospital, he began filming the daily events in the hospital’s emergency department. This project eventually became the riveting and poignant documentary film Code Black, which received critical acclaim and was named Best Documentary at the 2013 Los Angeles Film Festival. After it caught the eye of CBS, the network premiered Code Black as a scripted medical drama in the fall of 2015. The hit primetime show rose in ratings throughout its inaugural 18-episode season and has been nominated for best drama series at international television festivals.

This special presentation is sponsored and presented by the Center for Research on Media, Technology, and Health; the Health Policy Institute; and the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute.

A light luncheon reception will follow the talk.