History Main / GoodDocBadDoc

[[folder: Anime And Manga ]]

* ''Manga/BlackJack'', though he charges exorbitant amounts of money for his services, sincerely fights for the lives of his patients; he has a Dr. Kevorkian-esque rival who is presented sympathetically (as in, he also wants to end unnecessary suffering), but who vehemently disagrees with Blackjack.
* ''Manga/SayHelloToBlackJack'', another medical manga, is almost entirely focused on this trope, chronicling the travails of an idealistic young doctor facing various challenges from the medical establishment. What's interesting is their variation on the Type-1 Bad Doc. Rather than directly bringing up money at all when lecturing him, the antagonistic hospital administrator tells him that jumping through too many hoops for the sake of individual patients is wasteful and small-minded. The real goal of the hospital should be funding its medical research programs to benefit all of mankind in the long run, rather than worrying too much about specific individuals. This basically turns the whole dynamic on its head, from idealistic humanitarianism vs. pragmatic capitalism to two different pie-in-the-sky idealists arguing over individualism vs/ collectivism.
* ''{{Anime/Monster}}'', where being a "good doc" backfires in epic proportions.
* ''Manga/TeamMedicalDragon'': The main conflict driving the plot of the story is the confrontation between those medical professionals who want to keep the corrupt system the same and value their own advancement and salaries over patient's lives and those willing to risk their careers in order to help patients ethically.

[[folder: Film ]]

* ''Film/PatchAdams'' staring Creator/RobinWilliams centers around the conflict between the traditional view of medicine being about treating diseases and how emotional attachments to patients helps neither doctor nor patient, and Dr. Adam's view of medicine being about treating people and engaging with them as more than just their ailments.
* In 1938 film ''Film/TheCitadel'', Manson starts off as a crusading Good Doc, doing pioneering research on tuberculosis. However, he is seduced by the Dark Side and becomes a profiteering Bad Doc, scamming wealthy hypochondriac ladies with quack treatments for non-existent illnesses. It takes the return of his old friend and once-fellow idealist Dr. Denny, and Denny's death at the hands of a Bad Doc surgeon, for Manson to turn over a new leaf.

[[folder: Literature ]]

* In ''Literature/CircleOfMagic''. The first three books, a rivalry is set up between Rosethorn, one of the main characters' teacher/foster mother, who's a JerkWithAHeartOfGold who due to her GreenThumb genuinely cares for the things she plants. Dedicate Crane, however, is described as petty, mean and much more interested in personal gain. When a plague sweeps the city, forcing them to work together as researchers, these roles just get enforced, with Crane seeming overly cruel to his underlings. [[spoiler: Eventually subverted, when its proven that Crane's strictness was there for ''very'' [[JerkassHasAPoint good reasons]], and he genuinely works hard to help cure the disease.]]

[[folder: Live Action TV ]]

* ''Series/{{Scrubs}}'':
** Doctor Cox (Good Doc) and and Doctor Kelso (Bad Doc) fought regularly, often trying to draw J.D. to support their point of view. Played with in that although he was the Bad Doc (in more ways than one), Kelso's point of view isn't always entirely the wrong one, being Type 1 as much as Type 2.
** The chief of medicine that temporarily replaced Kelso was a Type 2 through and through. However, she does [[JerkassHasAPoint chew the others out]] for ousting her out a job after she went through the trouble of relocating, when they ought to know that she'll simply be replaced by someone exactly like her, and they've therefore accomplished nothing. This is partly what spurs Dr. Cox into taking the offer for the chief's job.
* ''Series/{{House}}'': Though Dr. House doesn't seem to care as much about his patients as he does solving the puzzle, he still hates to lose anybody under his care; he runs into a number of obstructive bureaucrat types (Vogler being one) who only care about the hospital's reputation. Cuddy, as dean of medicine, has to balance these objectives.

** Dr. Stephen Franklin vs. Dr. [[OnlyInItForTheMoney Vance Hendricks]] ("Infection").
** [[Recap/BabylonFiveS01E10Believers "Believers"]]. Franklin has this kind of dichotomy with Dr. Hernandez. She wants to do the surgery no matter what, but Franklin wants to convince the parents first. He eventually does it anyway, when they decide not to go through with it.
* ''Series/TheGoodDoctor'': [[HandicappedBadass Shaun]], [[NiceGirl Claire]] and [[ReasonableAuthorityFigure Glassman]] are the good doctors, putting patients and morals first. [[TheAce Melendez]], [[AmbitionIsEvil Andrews]] and [[BitchInSheepsClothing Kalu]] are bad doctors, mostly interested in money and their career aspirations. FridgeBrilliance when you realise that St. Bonaventure, the patron saint of the hospital, was a very clever man but also always a humble and practical one, a description that applies to Shaun but certainly ''not'' Melendez or Kalu.

[[folder: Video Games ]]

* ''VideoGame/TraumaCenter'' has Derek Styles (good doctor) and a number of rivals, including "death doctor" Tyler.

Not really common in medical dramas set outside the USA, but... [[Administrivia/RuleOfCautiousEditingJudgment let's not go there, huh?]]

* ''Series/ChariteAtWar'': A rather unusual political version of this trope. Sauerbruch the good doc is anti-Nazi and tries to avoid handing over soldiers with self-inflicted wounds to the army for court martial, and he firmly protects resistance fighter von Dohnanyi and is disgusted with and horriefied of the eugenics programme. De Crinis the bad doc is an evil Nazi who fully supports the entire eugenics ideology and denounces wounded veterans.

Not really common in medical dramas set outside the USA, but... [[RuleOfCautiousEditingJudgement let's not go there, huh?]]

%% * ''Film/PatchAdams'' staring RobinWilliams.

%% * ''PatchAdams'' staring RobinWilliams.

* Though [[Series/{{House}} Dr. House]] doesn't seem to care as much about his patients as he does solving the puzzle, he still hates to lose anybody under his care; he runs into a number of obstructive bureaucrat types (Vogler being one) who only care about the hospital's reputation. Cuddy, as dean of medicine, has to balance these objectives.

* Doctor Cox (Good Doc) and and Doctor Kelso (Bad Doc) on ''Series/{{Scrubs}}'' fought regularly, often trying to draw J.D. to support their point of view. Played with in that although he was the Bad Doc (in more ways than one), Kelso's point of view isn't always entirely the wrong one, being Type 1 as much as Type 2.

[[AC:AnimeAndManga]]

[[AC:Film]]
%% * ''PatchAdams'' staring RobinWilliams.

[[AC:Literature]]

[[AC:LiveActionTV]]

[[AC:VideoGames]]

* Doctor Cox (Good Doc) and and Doctor Kelso (Bad Doc) on ''Series/{{Scrubs}}'' fought regularly, often trying to draw J.D. to support their point of view. Played with in that although he was the Bad Doc (in more ways than one), Kelso's point of view isn't always entirely the wrong one, being Type 1 as much as Type 2.
** The chief of medicine that temporarily replaced Kelso was a Type 2 through and through. However, she does [[JerkassHasAPoint chew the others out]] for ousting her out a job after she went through the trouble of relocating, when they ought to know that she'll simply be replaced by someone exactly like her, and they've therefore accomplished nothing. This is partly what spurs Dr. Cox into taking the offer for the chief's job.
%% ''PatchAdams'' staring RobinWilliams.

** ''SayHelloToBlackJack'', another medical manga (which doesn't really have much to do with Blackjack at all, actually) is almost entirely focused on this trope, chronicling the travails of an idealistic young doctor facing various challenges from the medical establishment. What's interesting is their variation on the Type-1 Bad Doc. Rather than directly bringing up money at all when lecturing him, the antagonistic hospital administrator tells him that jumping through too many hoops for the sake of individual patients is wasteful and small-minded. The real goal of the hospital should be funding its medical research programs to benefit all of mankind in the long run, rather than worrying too much about specific individuals. This basically turns the whole dynamic on its head, from idealistic humanitarianism vs. pragmatic capitalism to two different pie-in-the-sky idealists arguing over individualism vs/ collectivism.
* ''VideoGame/TraumaCenter'' has Derek Styles (good doctor) and a number of rivals, including "death doctor" Tyler.
* Though [[Series/{{House}} Dr. House]] doesn't seem to care as much about his patients as he does solving the puzzle, he still hates to lose anybody under his care; he runs into a number of obstructive bureaucrat types (Vogler being one) who only care about the hospital's reputation. Cuddy, as dean of medicine, has to balance these objectives.

* In Literature/CircleOfMagic. The first three books, a rivalry is set up between Rosethorn, one of the main characters' teacher/foster mother, who's a JerkWithAHeartOfGold who due to her GreenThumb genuinely cares for the things she plants. Dedicate Crane, however, is described as petty, mean and much more interested in personal gain. When a plague sweeps the city, forcing them to work together as researchers, these roles just get enforced, with Crane seeming overly cruel to his underlings. [[spoiler: Eventually subverted, when its proven that Crane's strictness was there for ''very'' [[JerkassHasAPoint good reasons]], and he genuinely works hard to help cure the disease.]]

* In Literature/TheCircleOfMagic. The first three books, a rivalry is set up between Rosethorn, one of the main characters teacher/foster mother, whose a JerkWithAHeartOfGold who due to her GreenThumb genuinely cares for the things she plants. Dedicate Crane, however, is described as petty, mean and much more interested in personal gain. When a plague sweeps the city, forcing them to work together as researchers, these roles just get enforced, with Crane seeming overly cruel to his underlings. [[spoiler: Eventually subverted, when its proven that Crane's strictness was there for ''very'' [[JerkassHasAPoint good reasons]], and he genuinely works hard to help cure the disease.]]

* Doctor Cox (Good Doc) and and Doctor Kelso (Bad Doc) on ''{{Scrubs}}'' fought regularly, often trying to draw J.D. to support their point of view. Played with in that although he was the Bad Doc (in more ways than one), Kelso's point of view isn't always entirely the wrong one, being Type 1 as much as Type 2.

* ''TraumaCenter'' has Derek Styles (good doctor) and a number of rivals, including "death doctor" Tyler.
* Though Series/{{House}} doesn't seem to care as much about his patients as he does solving the puzzle, he still hates to lose anybody under his care; he runs into a number of obstructive bureaucrat types (Vogler being one) who only cares about the hospital's reputation. Cuddy, as dean of medicine, has to balance these objectives.

* ''PatchAdams'' staring RobinWilliams.

One doctor ("Good Doc") holds her role as a medical practitioner in the highest esteem. She is equally likely to be a [[DrJerk jaded expert physician]] or a [[WideEyedIdealist young idealist]]. The other doctor ("Bad Doc"), often a senior or higher-promoted one, insists that making money is an important part of the medical profession.

Not all the conflict in a medical drama is between the doctors and the diseases; sometimes it's among the doctors. One of the most common recurring fights is over money. This works kind of like a GoodCopBadCop setup, only with doctors. One doctor (the Good one) says that healing people should be the first, last and only focus of a doctor. This Doc is a [[DrJerk jaded expert physician]] as often as he's a young idealist. The other doctor (the Bad one, often a senior or higher-promoted one) insists that making money is an important part of the medical profession. Bad doc often comes in two flavors:
#A pragmatist whose mantra is, "We can't help anyone if the hospital goes bankrupt."
#An honest-to-goodness heartless greedy bastard who sees patients as walking (or rolling or comatose. Whatever) piggy banks in need of a good MRI-hammer or two.
Usually, [=Good Doc=] will view/describe [=Bad Doc=] as Type 2 regardless of which he really is, while Bad Doc will usually insist he's Type 1 despite any evidence to the contrary.

** The chief of medicine that temporarily replaced Kelso was a Type 2 through and through. The only sympathetic characterization she got at all was in her last scene, where she talks about how she's being fired after she went to all the trouble of moving her family into the area and finding a good school for her kid.

* Though {{House}} doesn't seem to care as much about his patients as he does solving the puzzle, he still hates to lose anybody under his care; he runs into a number of obstructive bureaucrat types (Vogler being one) who only cares about the hospital's reputation. Cuddy, as dean of medicine, has to balance these objectives.

* ''BlackJack'', though he charges exorbitant amounts of money for his services, sincerely fights for the lives of his patients; he has a Dr. Kevorkian-esque rival who is presented sympathetically (as in, he also wants to end unnecessary suffering), but who vehemently disagrees with Blackjack.

* ''{{Monster}}'', where being a "good doc" backfires in epic proportions.