NOVA Online | Survivor M.D.

Welcome to the companion Web site to "Survivor M.D.," a three-hour program originally broadcast over three evenings: March 27, April 3, and April 10, 2001. The programs comprise the fourth installment in a series that has tracked the careers and concerns of seven doctors whose lives as physicians began when they entered Harvard Medical School in 1987. Here's what you'll find online:

One Night in an E.R.
The popular TV show "E.R." notwithstanding, what is an emergency room really like? What do doctors, nurses, and patients face? Join our NOVA reporter on a Friday-night shift behind the swinging doors at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.
Meet the Doctors
One was a bouncer and auto mechanic before he entered medical school. Another went on to become an eye doctor, while another left medicine for academia and eventually the corporate world. In these brief sketches, meet each of the seven doctors profiled on "Survivor M.D."
The Producer's Story
In this straight-from-the-shoulder essay, "Survivor M.D." producer Michael Barnes tells why he decided to document the lives of the seven Harvard Medical School students he selected back in 1987, what it was like to follow them for 14 years, and what he learned along the way.
The Hippocratic Oath Today
Most doctors take the famous oath of Hippocrates upon graduation from medical school. But does the father of medicine's ethic still have relevance in today's world of legal abortion, euthanasia, and AIDS? Bone up on the controversies surrounding the oath, then tell us what you think. We'll post responses on this site.
Medicine Through Time (Hot Science)
You have a pus-filled sore on your leg, and the skin around the sore is hot and red. In this Shockwave feature, visit a doctor in 1900, 1950, and 2000 to find out how you would have been treated for this and two other maladies.
M.D. Specialties
From pediatrics to pathology, orthopedics to ophthalmology, med students have a doctor's bag full of specialties to choose from. Sample an annotated list here.
NOVA News Minute
Watch a news clip related to NOVA's "Survivor M.D." program.

NOVA Online is produced for PBS by the WGBH Science Unit
Major funding for NOVA is provided by the Park Foundation and Sprint.