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Inspiring Doctors
Stephen McGann and Heidi Thomas
Ep. 15
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In our final episode, Martin speaks to two special guests, from the team behind the BBC series ‘Call the Midwife’. Stephen McGann, who plays Dr Turner, and is not only an actor but also an experienced science communicator; and Heidi Thomas, an accomplished screenwriter and playwright who is the creator, writer, and executive producer of the series. They talk about the opportunities of the show to deliver health messages to its wide audience, the response doctors have had to fictional GP Dr Patrick Turner, Heidi’s childhood aspirations towards healthcare, Stephen’s science communication work, and much more.
Episode transcript available at bma.org.uk/inspiringdoctors
Content warning: this episode contains some discussion about the history of abortion rights and the thalidomide scandal. You can avoid those by skipping from 52:15 to 59:00 for thalidomide, and 59:00 to 1:07:41 for abortion.
The episode also contains a few very mild spoilers for Call the Midwife.
You can watch Call the Midwife on the BBC iPlayer for listeners in the UK. For our US listeners, you can find it on PBS, and our Australian listeners can find it on ABC iview.
To find out about the Science Communication Unit at Imperial College London, visit imperial.ac.uk/science-communication-unit/
The interviewees on this podcast are just a selection of those who communicate medicine in fantastic ways. To join the conversation on social media and tell us about doctors whose communication skills inspired you, tag @TheBMA on Twitter and Instagram, and use #InspiringDoctors. For more information visit: bma.org.uk/inspiringdoctors
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16. Bonus: Wise words
53:16In each of the past 15 episodes, Prof. Martin McKee spoke with people he sees as role models for communicating medicine to a wider audience. He asked them about what inspired them, the lessons they have learned, and their advice for doctors who may want to follow in their footsteps. In this bonus episode, we summarise their wise words and Martin shares his own advice to young doctors who may want to follow in his footsteps. You do not need to have listened to any of the episodes to enjoy this one, but we hope that if you haven't, this might pique your interest in listening to the series. Episode transcript available at bma.org.uk/inspiringdoctors The interviewees on this podcast are just a selection of those who communicate medicine in fantastic ways. To join the conversation on social media and tell us about doctors whose communication skills inspired you, tag @TheBMA on Twitter and Instagram, and use #InspiringDoctors. For more information visit: bma.org.uk/inspiringdoctors
14. Ian Fussell
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13. Hannah Barham-Brown
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12. Nick Black
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10. Dominic Pimenta
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9. Ben Goldacre
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8. Trisha Greenhalgh
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