Last night, yet another medical drama aired on Fox last night called The Resident. It’s about a new resident going to work for a stern senior resident who reveals both the good and the bad of modern medicine. It shares a very different perspective on how a hospital operates compared to other medical dramas out there.
Full Recap
The pilot episode starts with a doctor’s shaky hand and some other doctors who decide it’s the time to take a selfie. As you probably presumed, the surgery goes completely awry. The patient suddenly awakens and those shaky hands accidentally nick an artery, killing the patient in the process. Later, we learn that those shaky hands belong to Dr. Bell, who happens to be the head of surgery. After the patient dies, Dr. Bell, with the help of his surgical team, comes up with an excuse to hide what really happened in the surgery. Hopefully, that’s not what really happens in an OR.
Then, we meet a new resident, Devon, a top-of-his-class Harvard graduate who meets Dr. Conrad Hawkins. When he does, Conrad basically makes fun of the fact that he’s a bit of a stickler and tells him his career could end if he doesn’t listen to him. For the rest of the day, Conrad gives Devon smaller and less-pleasant tasks. But he does end up reviving a 21-year-old drug addict, even though Conrad tells him not to. But turns out Conrad knows what he’s talking about because, despite Devon’s efforts, the woman’s still braindead afterward.
Conrad and Dr. Bell
As cocky as he sounds, Conrad’s clearly smart and knows what he’s doing. When the drug addict’s heart stopped, he knew she’d still be braindead and that it’d be easier if she’d died. Now, they continue to hold on to the hope that she’ll miraculously wake up. Additionally, he knows about Dr. Bell’s condition (whatever it is) and, for good reason, wants him to stop before he kills more patients. However, Dr. Bell isn’t too happy about that and goes at him with a case where (I’m assuming) Conrad messed up. And Dr. Bell, instead of reporting him, helped him cover it up.
Dr. Bell, unlike Conrad, is completely entitled. He has a lot of experience, but his health’s (at least in terms of his hands) declining and he won’t give up being the head of surgery just yet. Even though it’s putting more lives at risk. He not only screws up more than once in the episode but he even takes credit for other people’s work. So it’s no wonder why his online reviews are great. What the public doesn’t know is that his success rate is actually pretty low. In other words, he’s definitely not the doctor I want doing my surgery. And hopefully, he won’t stay in power for too long.
Final Thoughts
Overall, it’s a different take on the world of doctors and modern medicine. Usually, in medical shows, there’s a doctor that screws up and ends up killing the patient but it’s never been a central theme. Most medical dramas are about the great things about being a doctor and believing in miracles. This one seems to be all about highlighting these doctors’ mistakes.
But as interesting as it is to see the human error, I can only imagine how insulting it must be to real-life medical professionals. I’m obviously not involved in the medical world so I have no idea how accurate or inaccurate The Resident is. But regardless, I’m sure doctors wouldn’t want patients to think they’re as incompetent as the doctors in this show are. Either way, I have a feeling that that human error plotline will repeat itself again. Even if it does insult the entire medical profession in the process.