"Fact" and "fiction": enlivening health care education

Purpose - This paper aims to demonstrate how close analysis of cultural narratives can be employed as effective pedagogical tools in the explication and critique of specific workplace issues relevant to health management education. Design/methodology/approach - Two narratives have been selected to illustrate this point: the apparently "fictional" UK-based medical television drama series 'Bodies' (2005-2006) and the apparently "factual" report of an Australian state government public inquiry into acute health care, the 'Garling Report'. Findings - Through their demonstration of how analyses of selected segments of these texts can be used in health management education, the authors conclude that the comparative analyses of ostensibly "fictional" and "factual" narratives allow for analysis and critique of the inadequacies of new public management (NPM) applied to the health care industry, leading to a greater understanding of wider ideological effects on public perceptions. Practical implications - The authors argue that these understandings enliven students' learning experiences, and that such comparative analyses should be applied more widely across health management education to develop students' critical skills and openness to exploring alternative models. Originality/value - Comparative analysis of cultural texts is novel in health care education, and allows for the interrogation of ideology and its effects.