The Emmy and Golden Globe winning series, The Pitt, should be required viewing for anyone who has blamed health professionals for the care they receive in hospitals. Yes, the HBO series, which stars Noah Wyle as Dr. Michael “Robby” Robinavitch, is fiction, but the writers create scripts that deal with real life issues. Filmed as it might have happened in real time – similar to FOX’s popular drama, 24 – The Pitt is roller-coast ride as the waiting room fills up and treating patients becomes a race.
Labor shortages, both nurses and doctors, create long wait times for patients, whether in making an appointment with a medical professional or trying to be seen in an emergency room.
Katherine LaNasa as Dana Evans
In season one, Dana Evans (Katherine LaNasa, who has won an Emmy for her role as the ER’s charge nurse) is punched in the face by an angry male patient tired of waiting to be seen. In the recent negotiations with New York City hospitals, the nurses fought for better security including metal detectors and more guards. That one scene with LaNasa as Evans says it all. The threats are real and nurses and doctors should not have to worry about their safety when treating patients. In New York City hospitals and doctors offices, there is a sign reminding people that assaulting a health professional is a felony.
Another plot line in The Pitt: what happens when a patient’s care is impacted by the person’s inability to pay. After the subsidies under Obama Care were not renewed by Republicans, that’s not just a fictional scene on The Pitt. As in so many real life situations, the doctors on The Pitt work with patients to help them get the care they needed despite the lack of insurance. It doesn’t always work and can be heartbreaking for both the patient and the medical professionals.
Fiona Dourif as Dr. Cassie McKay and Noah Wyle as Dr. Michael “Robby” Robinavitch
Dr. Cassie McKay (Fiona Dourif), a second year resident, is denied further care for one of her patients because he lacks the proper insurance and must be transferred to another hospital. Another patient, who is diabetic, admits to one of the doctors that he has been taking only half of his insulin because of the cost. When he learns how much his hospital stay may total, he tries to leave, but two of the doctors find a way to reduce his payments, although even those will prove to be overwhelming for the family.
The care given to a patient who dies is brought home in the relationship the medical professionals have with an unhoused man who is an ER regular. The charge nurse, Dana Evans teaches a young nurse how to clean his body. She laments because they weren’t able to do that for those who passed during the pandemic. Dana and the young woman take water and cloths and lovingly wipe the blood and sweat from the man’s body, finally wrapping him in clean cloths so that the rest of the staff can come and say goodbye. What these two women did was close to godliness, showing respect, love, and, yes, empathy, for this man who died before his time.
Isa Briones as Dr. Trinity Santos
The human touch vs. AI plays out with Dr. Trinity Santos (Isa Briones), who is having a hard time keeping up her patient notes. Dr. Baran Al-Hashimi (Sepideh Moafi) a new attending physician who arrives as Robby’s interim replacement ahead of his sabbatical, promotes the use of AI to facilitate the process. But when AI creates a serious mistake that might have harmed a patient, the message is sent that relying on AI to get things right might not be the best way to go. A human is still needed to make sure the reports are correct.
Patrick Ball as Dr. Frank Langdon and Noah Wyle as Dr. Michael “Robby” Robinavitch
Robby, who is a model of empathy when dealing with patients, is not ready to forgive Dr. Frank Langdon (Patrick Ball), who was caught stealing drugs to support his habit and had to take time off to go into rehab. Langdon has returned, substance free, but Robbie keeps him in triage, rather than allowing him to treat the more challenging cases. Even when the two men are trapped in an elevator, Robbie rebuffs Langdon’s efforts to ask for forgiveness.
Showing empathy is not always easy, as Robby’s attitude displays. One reason The Pitt excels is that even heroes like Robbie have moments when they fail. And that message gets through and perhaps will help us forgive ourselves when we have moments when we disappoint others.
Photo Credit: HBO Max
