From the ED to The Pitt: Dr. Mel Herbert on Medicine, Storytelling, and the Power of Hollywood
From the ED to The Pitt:
Dr. Mel Herbert on Medicine, Storytelling, and the Power of Hollywood
Oct. 15, 2025
In this EMRA*Cast episode, hosts Lauren Rosenfeld and D’Monte Farley sit down with Dr. Mel Herbert, emergency physician, educator, and medical consultant for The Pitt, the hit TV drama inspired by life in the emergency department.
Hosts
Lauren Rosenfeld, MD
George Washington University
Emergency Medicine Residency Class of 2026
@laurenatoregon on X; @laurenkrosenfeld on IG
EMRA*Cast Episodes
D'Monte Farley, MD
Advocate Christ Medical Center
EM Residency Class of 2028
@tiarretp
EMRA*Cast Episodes
Guest
Mel Herbert, MD
Emergency physician
Founder, Medfluencers
Writer & medical consultant, "The Pitt"
@MelHerbertER @MelHerbert
OVERVIEW
In this EMRACast episode, hosts Lauren Rosenfeld and D'Monte Farley sit down with Dr. Mel Herbert, emergency physician, educator, and medical consultant for The Pitt, the hit TV drama inspired by life in the emergency department.
Dr. Herbert recounts his unlikely path from Australia to UCLA, from EMRAP podcasts to Hollywood writers’ rooms. He discusses how he collaborates with screenwriters to ensure medical accuracy while capturing the emotional truths of medicine—the burnout, triumphs, and humanity behind every case.
The conversation explores how storytelling can advance public health, where medicine meets entertainment, and why diverse voices make better art—and better medicine. Dr. Herbert's humility and humor shine as he offers heartfelt advice to young physicians: "Dream, try things, keep an open heart, and have gratitude—good things will follow."
Discussion
- How can storytelling be used as a tool for medical education and advocacy?
- What ethical or practical challenges arise when balancing medical accuracy with entertainment value?
- Dr. Herbert describes Hollywood as "powerful"—how can physicians harness that power responsibly?
- What lessons about burnout and emotional resilience can be drawn from the show's focus on the human side of medicine?
- How might a more diverse writers' room (or medical team) change the stories we tell about health care?
TAKE-HOME POINTS
- Medicine meets media: Herbert’s consulting ensures authenticity in The Pitt while translating the lived experience of emergency medicine.
- Accuracy vs. art: Even when dramatized, truthful storytelling can honor the spirit of EM practice.
- Emotional honesty: The heart of the show—and of medicine—is the human cost of caring.
- Diversity drives depth: Varied perspectives make both scripts and care better.
- Career takeaway: Be curious, take chances, and stay grateful; your unique story might lead somewhere unexpected.
Resources
- Behind the Scenes of The Pitt with Gemmhill, Sachs, and Herbert. The Nocturnist.
