Pediatric Bioethics: Representation of Medicine in the Media - Impact of The Pitt

The hit television series The Pitt depicts the lives of health care professionals in a Pittsburgh trauma center’s emergency department in “real time” over the course of one shift. The show has received critical acclaim, winning five Emmy Awards in its first season. It has also garnered popular attention, averaging 10 million viewers per episode in season one with even higher numbers anticipated in season two. Many laud the series for its realism, and I have heard more than one colleague has claimed it the “most realistic medical show ever.”

Medicine on television has always been prevalent and popular. Along with season two of The Pitt, 2026 will bring season 22 of Grey’s Anatomy, a reboot of the popular comedy series Scrubs, and a new series called Best Medicine in which a big-city surgeon relocates to a small town. Whether it is realistic, dramatized or mockumentary-style, the representation of medicine in the media and its effect is inescapable. And as with anything that capitalizes on the drama of human lives, ethics frequently play a key role.

The Pitt tackles ethical issues including workplace violence, neurodiversity in patients and practitioners, drug diversion, mass casualty response, mask debates, human trafficking, minors seeking abortion care, management of misinformation, anti-vaccine sentiment, organ donation, end-of-life decision-making and many more. These are presented through a series of patient encounters alongside representations of systemic limitations and issues. 

Several pediatric-specific cases are shown, including a family pushing back against the recommended medical management of their son who has a suspected measles infection and acute disseminated encephalomyelitis. The team grows increasingly impatient and arguably unprofessional with their responses to the parents. The mother requests a transfer to a different facility. Ultimately the father agrees to a spinal tap without the mother’s knowledge, and she attempts to stop the procedure. The scene emphasizes the moral distress that practitioners experience when treating patients and families with strong ideological beliefs and requests that differ from generally accepted medical recommendations. This scenario is unfortunately becoming increasingly common in modern-day medicine.

The Children’s Mercy ethics committee recently hosted a panel of our emergency department staff to discuss the representation of ethics in the show. Surprisingly, the majority of the discussion was about flaws in the depiction of various medical scenarios from poor-quality chest compressions to inadequate use of PPE. However, the consensus was that storylines on The Pitt bring up issues at the forefront of bioethics today and these stories influence the experiences and expectations of our patients and families.

There is also evidence that inclusion of these topics can have an impact on the general population. A study performed by the USC Norman Lear Center found that 27% of survey respondents were more likely to seek out organ donation information after watching the show, with a significant impact in Black respondents. Also noteworthy is the impact of the show on end-of-life considerations, with nearly 40% of respondents reporting that after watching the show they would look into end-of-life planning, including creating a living will or power of attorney. These statistics demonstrate the impact that media representation of complex medical issues has on public health in real ways.

As media can impact the public perception of health care, exploration of bioethical issues in these spaces becomes an opportunity to bring these discussions to the forefront of public consciousness. Advocating for accurate representation and inclusion of complex bioethical topics in the media is exceptionally important in today’s medical landscape.

Further reading:

Rosenthal EL, Watson-Currie E, Korobkova KA, Giaccardi Vargas S, Jauriqui V. Life and Death in The Pitt: How Accurate, Authentic Stories Move Audiences to Action. USC Norman Lear Center Media Impact Project; 2025. https://learcenter.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/ThePittStudy_LearCenterOctober2025.pdf