Medical TV shows have captivated audiences for decades, with shocking patient cases and over-the-top hospital drama. Last year, “The Pitt” emerged as a new favorite, praised by many who work in healthcare for its more realistic depiction of medicine. Each season of the Emmy-winning show depicts a day in the life (in real time) of an emergency department of a teaching hospital, populated by medical students, residents, attendings, nurses and other healthcare workers, as well as the patients they treat.
“A few of us at the Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy became interested in developing an event linked to ‘The Pitt’ because we’re big fans of the show,” said Dr. Mary Majumder, Dalton Tomlin Professor of Medical Ethics and Health Policy at Baylor. “We felt that the show does a really good job of dramatizing a range of issues in contemporary healthcare in the U.S., some specific to the emergency department but others pretty universal in healthcare.”
Dr. Mary Majumder guides discussion on how ‘The Pitt’ mirrors real-world healthcare.
Together with Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy lead Clarice Jacobson, Majumder organized an event for Baylor students to attend a screening of the pilot episode followed by a panel discussion with Baylor faculty experts. The event, held on a Wednesday evening in August, was simultaneously streamed for the Houston and Temple campuses. The panel discussion focused on three themes: use of metrics like patient satisfaction scores, in relation to overcrowding and boarding; grief, meaning and moral distress / moral injury; and hostile interactions and team friction. Students discussed their reactions in small groups and then shared with the whole group.
“What we hoped would happen, and what I’m so glad to report did happen, was that the panelists and participants shared in a really authentic and vulnerable way how the show resonated with their own concerns and challenges,” Majumder said. “They shared important insights and ideas for responding that can increase resilience and have the potential to improve relationships with patients and colleagues.”
Dr. Robert McArthur, assistant professor and program director for Baylor’s emergency medicine residency, led the discussion about using metrics for patient care with chief emergency medicine resident Dr. Alberto Lopez Juarez. They discussed how the pressures to produce patient satisfaction scores can impact physicians and the factors that can influence how patients feel about their care.
Stacy Nigliazzo, instructor of medicine with the Humanities Expression and Arts Lab, and Dr. Devan Stahl, adjunct associate professor at the School of Medicine Temple Campus, led the second discussion on handling grief in high-pressure environments like the emergency department. The discussion centered on taking moments of silence to process grief and learning healthy coping mechanisms and when to ask for help.
Dr. Stacey Rose, associate professor of medicine and education, innovation and technology and director of the Center for Professionalism, led the final discussion on how to handle hostile interactions in the hospital. The segment focused on how to foster intentional and respectful communication and how to address conflict in the moment and afterward, as well as how to use appropriate reporting channels if needed.
“We are so grateful that the Center for Professionalism was invited to take part in this event. Professional behaviors, including treating all members of the healthcare team with civility and respect, are critically important to optimize patient outcomes and create supportive learning and working environments,” Rose said. “‘The Pitt’ was a great engine for reflection on these topics; scenes that show disparaging comments – with peers, learners and interprofessional colleagues – get the conversations going, so that students can be prepared when navigating tricky situations in real-life.”
First-year medical student Amy Torres attended the Houston event and said she appreciated the opportunity to hear different perspectives from physicians in a variety of specialties so early in her medical school career.
“Growing up, I always watched medical based shows. It was always an interest to me,” Torres said. “Being able to now be here, gaining actual medical knowledge and listening to real life experts and get their opinion about it is something invaluable. It’s very cool to have this opportunity.”
By Molly Chiu