The monthly Literature and Healthcare Discussion Group, hosted by the University of Utah’s Center for Health Ethics, Arts and Humanities, met on July 8 to discuss “The Pitt’s” season one, episode one titled “7:00 A.M.”
The discussion group explores narrative representations of health across various mediums, like books, essays and films. “The Pitt” is an HBO Max original medical drama, with each episode representing one hour of a 15-hour shift.
The Center for Health Ethics, Arts and Humanities director Gretchen Case facilitated the discussion, playing four clips of the episode “7:00 A.M.” Discussions centered around the bonds and mental health of healthcare workers, language barriers, patient satisfaction and the aftermath of losing a patient.
In an interview with the Daily Utah Chronicle, Case said that TV representations can shape the audience’s understanding of societal issues. “Humans are storytelling creatures,” Case said. “We learn through narrative. We want a story.”
The discussion
After she played each clip, Case opened the discussion period with special guest Jeff Druck, an emergency physician at the U and the vice chair of Faculty Advancement, Transformation and Wellbeing for Emergency Medicine.
Druck sees patients at the U’s emergency department and helps teach the medical students and residents on shift. Druck told The Chronicle that one way that “The Pitt” differs from other medical shows is being a “little more accurate” around resuscitation. Not everyone who experiences a cardiac arrest will be able to be saved, despite common depictions on TV.
The last clip centered on how Noah Wyle‘s Dr. Michael “Robby” Robinavitch takes a moment of silence after a patient dies. In his ER, Druck himself takes three breaths after a patient passes away to recognize their life.
“The first breath is for the patient…. They lived a full life and had people that they loved, and their presence is going to be missed,” Druck said. “The second breath is for the family and friends of this person who love them and who are going to miss this person. The third breath is for the healthcare team that tried to take care of them in terms of us realizing that we had a privilege to take care of this patient, and then also that we’ve done our best, and that sometimes our best doesn’t achieve the results that we’re looking for.”
TV representation
According to Druck, media representations of occupations can shape the public outlook on pursuing those careers. “The interest in emergency medicine, I think to some extent related to that show [ER] increased dramatically, and emergency medicine became one of the most desired positions in residency programs,” Druck said.
The way that TV series, films and books portray their characters and the storyline can impact the audience’s empathy. “If you can empathize with a fictional character, you’re more likely to develop and support empathy in yourself,” Case said. “Like if you can care about a fictional character, you are practicing caring about the real people in front of you.”
Case added that these shows can open spaces to the audience, even just by using medical jargon or specific messaging. “[The show] pulls you into a world,” she said.
Emergence and contemporary presence of health ethics
During the interview, Case attributed the standardization of physician and psychiatrist education to Abraham Flexner, an American science educator whose research shaped modern medicine in the United States and Canada. According to Case, research released prior to the Flexner Report did not adequately include the other aspects of the human experience. “Healthcare is humans giving care to humans,” she said. Although she acknowledged controversies stemming from the Flexner Report, she said that his research paved the way for a streamlined, “similar curriculum” in medicinal education.
Discussion attendance offered 1.5 Continuing Medical Education (CME) credits for physicians. Events must be approved with the U’s CME office for it to be eligible for credit and Utah requires at least 40 hours of CME every two years. “We don’t want our providers to stop learning the minute they graduate from school,” Case said.
The Center for Health Ethics, Arts and Humanities also hosts an Ethics Explored Discussion Series that explores current and relevant healthcare ethical issues.
Case said that ethics and the humanities are not about changing who healthcare workers are. “They’re already humans with complex lives and potential for empathy and care, and we’re supporting it. We’re engaging it. We are celebrating it,” Case said. “And that’s the thing I want people to know, that this is never about fixing.”
