Dr Lisa Masterson has her work cut out for her on The Doctors as the show enters its third season this week with women's health issues an increased priority. Masterson is being asked to lead the charge. "I am loving that," said Masterson, an obstetrician and gynaecologist. "Being the only female on the show and the voice of women is something I take really seriously."
The Doctors is offering its female-skewing audience a segment titled, Ask Dr Lisa, which promises candid answers to viewer and studio audience questions, and The Motherhood Survival Club, with celebrities and average mums sharing their child-rearing experiences. People want information about everyday concerns, said executive producer Jay McGraw (son of Phil McGraw of Dr Phil fame). Larger health care issues are not on the agenda.
"Viewers don't have questions for us on health care reform. They have questions for us on, ‘What do I do today to get better tomorrow?'" Jay McGraw said.
The show's answers range from home remedies for swimmer's ear to solving the mystery of whether a child's congestion stems from allergies or infection. The show, McGraw recalls, did a segment on the "five colours of snot" to identify which should cause parents to get medical help for their youngster.
The Doctors, winner of an Emmy Award for best informative talk show, will keep the rest of its medical staff busy as well. Joining Masterson are emergency room physician Dr Travis Stork, plastic and reconstructive surgery expert Dr Drew Ordon and paediatrician Dr Jim Sears.
On the edge
Stork plays a guinea pig in Project Unhealthy, swapping his diligent approach to diet and exercise for a sedentary week of fast-food gluttony. He gained more than a pound a day and saw his blood pressure edge into the pre-hypertensive range. He also acquired a new sense of understanding about how easily a person can fall into a harmful routine, the doctor said. Hearing from viewers they have helped is welcome medicine for the doctors, Stork and Masterson agree. The syndicated series averaged more than 2.6 million daily viewers last season.
Stork gets feedback from patients when he is on duty at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee, where he is a faculty physician, and on the street from fans. "They'll say, ‘Dr Stork, I've lost 25 pounds in the last year since I found your show,' or, ‘Dr Stork, I had a heart attack and had given up hope, but in recovery I turned on your show and it gave me hope."'
Don't miss it
In the UAE, The Doctors' season three airs on MBC 4 from Saturday to Wednesday.
