Doctors Today

The science of modern medicine is incredibly complex and exacting. A doctor must be compassionate enough to comfort a patient going through what could be the toughest trials of his life, as well as sympathetically explaining what is happening to the patient's family. At the same time, the doctor needs to be a hard-nosed scientist, able to see past humanity to deal with the uncaring nature of a disease or illness. The most powerful tool for both the compassionate healer and the deliberate scientist is knowledge and the ability to share it.

Dr. W.W. Bauer served for many years as the American Medical Association's Director of Health Education and began using radio to spread his message as early as 1935 when he began appearing on NBC with a series of health-related lectures. By 1938, the straight lecture format gave way to a more dramatized format in Your Health. The program took a few cues from the growing Soap Opera format with an actor playing a doctor treating a patient through his illness or a stage of his or her life, along with Dr. Bauer's commentary. The drama was given even more emphasis in 1940's Doctors at Work.

After Pearl Harbor, the networks were anxious for any content that was War or military-related. The AMA got together with the War Department to change the format of the Doctors program again to Doctors at War. The new program featured combat medical training, dealing with plasma in desert conditions, the trials and tribulations of Flight Surgeons and Navy Nurses, and any other subject which had medical men serving their country along with their fellow man.

With the writing talents of William Murphy, Doctors at War was one of the most exciting of the "frontline" Wartime dramas. With the coming of peace, the Wartime drama faded, but the medical fight continued, so NBC allowed the team to continue as Doctors Today. Debuting in December 1947, the Sunday afternoon program dealt with topics like obesity, paralysis, hay fever, the ongoing need for nurses, childhood cancer, brucellosis, dentistry, epilepsy, TB, the Red Cross Blood Drives, and other medical topics.

See also: Doctor Fights.