One Bullet
Leela is helping Padma get ready for her C-section at the start of The Resident Season 6 but Padma is obsessing over “the terrible things that can go wrong at any given moment.” I understand Padma, she went through a lot when she nearly lost her pregnancy. It is scary to feel like you have no control, especially when preparing to bring new life into the world. Padma asks Leela to promise her that if something happens to her she will take care of the twins. In the meantime, Conrad and Cade are wrapping up on a Go Team call when they hear gunshots. They ran to help and find a man, lying on the street bleeding from a gunshot wound to the abdomen. They rush the man to Chastain after being diverted by Yates University hospital, which was the nearest ER. Yates University hospital doesn’t want to take the GSW patient for the fear that he doesn’t have insurance and “it will cost a mint to try and save him.’’ Conrad paints a clear picture of the damage one bullet can cause. He tells Cade, “One bullet can require 100 healthcare workers to fix the damage it causes.” The scene then cuts to a timetable that starts the countdown on how many healthcare workers will work on this patient. At the hospital, Dr. Sullivan is getting ready for what looks like a packed day and is notified that he is required to get a drug test. All nurses and doctors on shift have to do a mandatory drug test. Dr.Sullivan panics and starts taking oxaprozin to create a believable excuse. He tests positive on his drug test and lies to Kitty that he has been taking back pain medication. Kitty asks him to stop taking the oxaprozin and get tested again in a week. Cade asks Conrad if he was the one who suggested to Kitty they do a hospital-wide drug test. She feels Conrad broke her confidence but Conrad says that they can’t let a drug-addicted surgeon operate on patients. He explains he didn’t tell Kitty any specifics, just made a suggestion. Padma gets to the hospital and she is still anxious about what can happen. AJ and her doctors do their best to calm her down and assure her all will be well. Cade and Conrad arrive with their patient and they immediately start medical intervention. They are rushing to stabilize him and get to the OR. The whole process from the car to the point where they stabilized him enough for the OR took 14 health workers. Conrad updates Kitty on the patient and they discuss the toll GSWs have on a public hospital’s budget. After his first surgery, the patient has so far been treated by 35 health workers. He will need another surgery to remove the bullet that is lodged in his lower thoracic spine. There is a 50 % chance that he will be paralyzed if they leave it. He also has damaged kidneys and will need to be put on dialysis around the clock. He will also need real-time monitoring so a nurse and a doctor will need to sit with him and observe him. Kitty is not happy about this as they already have a shortage of nurses but they still need to do their best to save him. This brings the tally to 43 health workers who are currently treating the man. The GSW patient condition gets worse as his internal bleeding gets out of control and AJ and Leela are forced to leave Padma and tend to him. By the end of the episode, the GSW patient had cost the hospital nearly half a million, and 100 health workers had worked tirelessly to keep him alive. The GSW case creates a backlog in the OR as doctors are forced to push back or cancel their surgeries. Padma’s surgery is pushed back, making her more nervous. Other patients also feel the ripple effect as more procedures are pushed back or cancelled. Padma’s condition as she awaits for an OR to open up gets worse. She is has an abruption and needs surgery right away. They cancel another surgery and get her to the OR immediately. The babies are delivered well but Padma is bleeding excessively and they are out of blood. Leela is forced to leave her surgery and Billie takes her place as she rushes to Padma. Leela does her best to remain calm and save Padma. It was a close call but she manages to stop the bleeding before Padma coded.
The Episode Review
This episode tried to emphasize the toll gun violence takes on public hospitals. Most public hospitals are understaffed and are on a tight budget. One bullet can cause great havoc and everyone feels the ripple effect. This is a topic that is not discussed enough and the show did a great job highlighting the impact of gun violence in hospitals. Padma has a long recovery ahead of her but I hope she will be okay. It was a beautiful and moving scene seeing AJ and his sons for the first time.
