A Review from Waipahu of "The Pitt" (Season One)

 

If one can be "nostalgic" for Emergency Departments, that was certainly my reaction while watching the new hit series, The Pitt.  The feeling came as a welcome surprise, albeit unexpected.

 

While I have committed myself to the community of Waipahu for at least a year, I had just left working in a hospital setting in Michigan.  Much of my career has been in the health care field, and much of that was spent in Emergency Rooms.  So the show felt very relevant.

 

Noah Wylie

 

Since my role in health care was focused on holistic healing and staff working relationships, I paid close attention to those on the show.  Noah Wylie, the lead actor, was always a favorite from the (now ancient) television series, "ER."  In The Pitt, he does not disappoint.  His seasoned age brings out his excellent abilities to portray empathy, humility, teamwork, and positivity.  He reminded me of some of the attending physicians I was privileged to work with. 

 

The Other Staff

 

The other physicians also reminded me of some of the physicians I worked with at my former hospital.  

 

The show shines with the acting of the other staff, portraying all different roles.  The scriptwriters did their job well.  Most every bit of dialogue sounded similar to things I heard.  They seemed to cast people perfectly.  I liked the tattoos on some; they seemed ubiquitous where I was from.

 

I was delighted in the episode that featured the African-American history of emergency medicine having started in Pittsburgh.  The staff at my prior hospital in Michigan used to talk about this history.

Seeing The Pitt with Aloha

 

Waipahu and Hawai`i embrace a CULTURE of Aloha, well beyond anything on tourism websites.  It is a way of life, a value that is in the DNA of every culture and race that live here, and taught by the Native Hawaiian ancestors. 

 

One thing I appreciated about The Pitt was similarities with this culture of aloha.  The emergency department staff genuinely cared about each other, and this translated to genuine care for patients.  At its best, health care embraces a similar spirit to the "spirit of aloha."  I credit Noah Wylie and the show's creators for imbuing the show with this deep compassion.

 

One thing I love about life in Waipahu and Hawai`i is that aloha embraces spirituality.  This will be a theme I come back to in future posts.  

 

In healing, the values of aloha and lokomaika'i are essential.  

 

Unfortunately, The Pitt does not seem to embrace spirituality in the same way.  Like most places in the contiguous United States, spirituality seems to be compartmentalized in the show.  In Hawai`i, spirituality is woven inextricably into everyone's regular life, including in the hospital.

 

Nostalgia, Really?

 

It might seem crazy for those who have never worked in one, but I found myself feeling nostalgic for work in the emergency department while watching The Pitt.  I thought one thing (among many) that The Pitt has done well, is to show how LIFE CHANGING the emergency department is on a regular basis.  Of course it is for the patients and families.  But the show was one of the only ones since ER that showed -- realistically -- how the emergency department can be life changing for the staff as well.  Warm fuzzies.

 

A Difference that Made Me Laugh

 

One difference between all the emergency departments I've ever worked in, and The Pitt, were the walls, corners, and nooks.  While our Environmental Services workers were INCREDIBLE in the emergency departments (e.g., cleaning a trauma room in just a few minutes to get ready for the next patient), emergency rooms by their very nature in a Level 1 Trauma Center tend to be somewhat unkempt.  At least in the busy hours, like night shift.  You could see it on the walls and whiteboards.  Things happen in the emergency department that are messy.  And there is not always time to update items, clean patches, or even fill in holes in the wall from violent patients and families.  Equipment that suddenly stops working and has to be swapped out is in the corner, waiting to be taken away.  

 

ER are messier than what The Pitt showed.   I found myself smiling at this, as like someone who appreciates Grunge Music over Pop Music.  Made for television.

 

A Difference that Made Me Sad

 

In The Pitt, like most medical dramas, the physicians are featured and in charge.  Nurses are prominent but secondary.  And the rest of the staff and community leaders are further down in prominence.

 

This was quite different from the collaboration I witnessed.  In my most recent hospital in Michigan, there was a good spirit of collaboration and co-equal leadership in the emergency department, notably between nurses and physicians.  Of course, all medical diagnosis and decisions were deferred to physicians, but there was so much more to patient and family care.  And the physicians seemed to happily share power in these realms.  Nurses were empowered, doctors benefited, and ultimately patients and families had better outcomes.  This was a model for good care. 

 

Unfortunately, I didn't see enough of this reality on The Pitt.