MEDICAL DRAMA

There are about a million of them -and that would be just the ones still on the air, worldwide- but since I have had recent first-hand experience in these matters and have something to say about them, I feel compelled to showcase my versatility in this genre as well...


The doctoress walks hurriedly into the reading room, as her schedule is already pressing her. She finds her top intern there - a second-year student who reminds her much of herself when she was beginning. She finds her concerned and nervous - and, instantly, her senses tell her something is not right and that she has to find the time to inquire further, even though her duties call her elsewhere asap...

"What is it, Darla? Something is bothering you - I can see it..."

"I know that I have to tell you everything - as my immediate superior in the staff, you need to know... But I can tell you know right off that it was an honest mistake; everything indicated that it was the right approach to take..."

"What happened Darla - show me which patient it concerns; I assume that is the file...?"

"Yes - I was just citing the facts just as you came in; I prescribed some shots and the patient had an adverse reaction, pretty much on the spot. I was present when it all happened. There were no indications of previous intolerance towards these - nothing in the patient's history that would indicate such a thing would occur now. But it did... I am sorry."

"How is the patient now - where is he?"

"Stabilized - but I am afraid that the shock was too much... The allergic reaction fragilized an already unstable system - I am afraid that... My chosen approach has caused irremediable damage instead and that... We will lose the patient shortly."

"I see that he is not very young - and had a lot of complications already... You may not have to worry about them blaming you; I'll speak on your behalf..."

"But I messed up, Dr. Thales. I know it; I practically... killed this elderly man."

"No - you did not. Don't speak like that - and certainly don't add that to the file!"

"I won't - but I am telling you as my mentor - this is how I see it and how I feel. How... how will you speak on my behalf if you weren't even there whan it all took place? You were busy at the other end of the hospital - and just a little back-up check will bring that to light. If this goes to court... I will be alone to defend myself. And I will admit my guilt then..."

"You will do no such thing. The hospital and the medical establishment are at cause here - not just you. Don't forget that. The entire system in which we operate can be shaken -just as this patient's system was- by one tiny infinitesimal thing such as a minor slip-up like yours today... And we do not want this, do we?"

"But, doctor... It is my fault... I am responsible..."

"The patient was fragile - he was going to go sooner or later, it was only a question of time anyway... I will stop by his room on my way to see my patients. And you - do not admit ANYTHING. You understand me?"

"Yes, Dr Thales. I will do as you say..."

Diana Thales started pacing the corridors within minutes. The room was quite a way from the "headquarters center" of sorts - another point that played against them in this case, she figured... She could only hope that the family of this patient would not question the medical competence of the staff not of the medical care that their patriarch had received; that they would take all the gibberish written in the file, srcibbled nonsense that even the doctors who jotted it down themselves could hardly re-read oftentimes, and not question the validity of all the assessments made in there...

When she entered the room, she recognized a familiar stench immediately.
The pervaded stench of death was permeating the room's atmosphere.

She got closer to the patient's right - he was fading away, clearly.
The heartbeat was low. The blood pressure wasn't good. This was a lost cause.
She had to sound the alarm now - code blue, another one - and she knew the risks of doing so at this time. A young practitioner under her wing, the brightest spot on her team, was going to be put through the ringer for this - if not by the family, by the deontology committee... This could offset both of their careers' aspirations - damage their credibility for years to come. She weighed her options - recalled that at least two nurses and some maintenance employees saw her heading this way - so they would be able to testify, later on, that she was in the vicinity of a dying patient and did nothing about it. She had to obey her deeply-ingrained urge to obey the code of ethics that was, to begin with, what she was all about.

Still, she waited for the patient to drop to another alarming level before she did so. The patient would not last another hour at this rate.

Once code blue was sounded, the staff on hand came in and someone reminded all that the family had already advised to do "everything humanly possible" in order to save the patient... Dr. Thales could not believe it - she saw nothing of that in the file. But, within seconds, they had a family member on the phone who confirmed this. And so, the patient was promptly hooked to a respirator.

Dr. Thales felt a noose tightening around her own neck, rather than her subaltern's.



----------------------- LATER ON THAT AFTERNOON...


The committee assembled summarily - Dr. Byrnes, who had been Diana Thales' mentor, was there. Seated across from him, on the rather tiny table that disappointed greatly for such an important assembly, sat Dr. Matthews, greyer, wiser and far more impatient too. Two other doctors were supposed to come - on top of the head nurse and hospital administrator-in-chief. The latter had taken upon himself to invite a surprising pair of guests to the proceedings: Dr. Diana Thales and the wronged patient's elder son.

Doctors Byrnes and Matthews were the first two to get there though - they had never liked each other and it showed.

"Doctor Byrnes...! And this case we are supposed to investigate, invectivate and castigate involves one of those wussies you had under your wing... jadis... Is she one of the first-year whorey interns that you nailed in one of the disaffected operating rooms back then, hmm?"

"Doctor Matthews... Spare me your disparaging outrageous remarks, will you?"

"Why would I, dear doctor - you never spared the hospital from your outrageous behaviour, did you now? Even now - what is this... this... "look" of yours? It is a disgrace to behold! For the entire profession, not only this beleaguered and much-maligned establishment! That reggae hair... that awful goatee you sport... those clothes underneath your whites..."

"Aw... You are just jealous of my chiseled good looks, as you've ALWAYS been since I came onto the scene here, you pudgy old fart!"

"You foolish inane piece of..."

"Gentlemen - please! Restrain yourselves at least TODAY - we will have guests coming shortly..."

"Who would those be? I told the nurses to steer clear of me today - since I knew old man Matthews would be around..." chimed in Byrnes, slyly

"Not nurses, no - no one from your harem, Dr. Byrnes. Anyway, not anymore... Dr. Thales is coming."

"What for...?!?" asked Matthews, slightly startled...

"I thought it would be a good idea - to get both her point of view right now... As that of the family..."

"WHAT - you are out of your mind!? The deceased's family cannot be here today - this is for us to tend to our dirty laundry AMONGST OURSELVES..."

"Not anymore, it isn't..."