What hospital is it supposed to be? I don’t recognize the name they use on the show (that I can’t remember right now) |
Allegheny General in Deutschtown on the North Side by the National Aviary. |
Of course you often ultimately wind up with specialists but yes I've absolutely had everything treated in the ER. My spouse was in a car accident once and the ED was definitely our main source of care for him. He didn't wind up getting referred because he was very lucky and had no internal injuries and his external injuries could be treated in the ER with follow up care with our GP. He was in the ED for over 12 hours and had to have multiple scans done (MRI, head CT, multiple X-rays) before he could be discharged because of how he was hurt. There was a surgical consult at one point and we talked to a neurologist about his head CT and I got follow-care instruction just in case since even though the scans came back clean, he was still at risk of issues for 48 ours post injury. But our primary doctor was the ED attending, who was wonderful and did an amazing job managing his case. This was at GW. I also had to go to the ER when I was pregnant for complications and wound up staying in the ER instead of being sent to obstetrics because they were totally full with women in labor. This was at Sibley. I got wonderful care and my ER attending coordinated with my OB by phone and they were able to get me discharged fairly quickly and get the reassurance we needed on the baby's wellbeing so that I could go home for bedrest. That was a stressful visit because of the pregnancy and I was really impressed with how the ER doctors handled that aspect of my case given that they are not specialists -- they knew just what to do and also knew how to talk to a scared first time mom in her third trimester who was very scared of losing my pregnancy. Another time I took my mom to Sibley with abdominal pain and they were able to diagnose her gall stones and get her palliative care and took wonderful care of her. She ultimately did have surgery with a specialist but the ER docs diagnosed without any consultation and were 100% right about everything. I think "mystery abdominal pain" along with "mystery chest pain" are incredibly common in ERs and there are a ton of things they can be -- appendix, gall stones, kidney stones, ovarian torsion, bowel obstruction, ulcer... they did such a great job assessing my mom and getting to the root of it. So yes, sometimes the ED really does handle most of your case doesn't just punt you to a specialist and say "best of luck." That's my experience at urgent cares and with GPs, but since the issues you take to the ED tend to be much more acute, they can't do that so much. If you have something that is truly an emergency (or even just could be an emergency and better safe than sorry) they have to treat you. Even if it's late at night, as it was in every one of the examples I just gave. |
My sister developed GI problems shortly after our mom died. She had been mom's primary caregiver and was desperate to get out in the world (starting with election phone banking and then a low level paying job in retail bookkeeping). She had her gall bladder out but continued having symptoms. This went on for months, she was rapidly losing weight, there was a CT scan but they intended then forgot to do contrast, she had a myriad other scans and tests and began wondering about her pancreas (one consult report noted her bringing that up and said it should be considered). It was 8 months from onset of symptoms before she was diagnosed with a pancreatic mass in the ED where she'd gone because the pain had gotten so bad. |
I took a tour of Warner Brothers Studios yesterday where it is filmed. The show got picked up for a second season but they have not yet started filming. We couldn’t see the set, only the building where it is filmed. It was weird to think that behind those walls was the ER! |
Okay, but they are accessing specialist consults because they can access specialist consults. An office primary provider can't rely on that, but has to figure it out without help. I'm not sure you really are giving that credit.
Yes, and they can do this because they can get immediate imaging, which makes the diagnosis. A general practice office doc generally can't do that and has to make the call based on physical exam and history. Again, I'm not criticizing your admiration for ED docs -- they do hard work, and that's great. I think just think you are underselling the difficulties and extraordinary responsibilities fielded by non-ED docs who have to make some (and less acute, but still real) similar calls without the backup of immediate consults, and without the assistance of very valuable immediate testing.
Okay. I'm glad you got excellent service. ![]() |
The Jake storyline doesn’t work. Why are we supposed to care about this kid? He’s done nothing other than be Robby’s ex stepson and their previous interactions weren’t even interesting.
Sorry but this is a big misstep in an otherwise phenomenal show. |
Because Robby relates to him in a paternal way. Because he’s a kid who just went through a mass shooting and the horrible aftermath including watching his friend die. Do you have extensive backstory on most of the ED patients? You’re meant to care about most of them as well. |
I sort of agree. Plus, Robby wasn’t even married to Jake’s mom, only dated her for a couple of years. He never was his actual stepson. In real life, that kid wouldn’t give him the time of day. |
I feel sorry for those of you so lacking in care for others that you can't understand Robby and Jake's relationship, or that you wouldn't have empathy for any kid who is going through what Jake is. |
It's a rare glimpse into Robby's personal life. Really, the only other things we know is that he dated Dr. Collins. He's a nice kid, and his interactions with the other staffers imply that he's been around for a while -- they all seemed to know him and like him. |
Calm down, this is a tv show. It’s not real. No one said they didn’t have empathy for a kid going through what he did. Someone simply said they aren’t connected to Robby. Are you the same poster who jumped down people’s throats for saying they didn’t like Dr. Collins? I see a pattern. |
Maybe that isn't who/how you are, but I had a lot of not-moms and not-dads growing up, and that dynamic, that connection, was very similar to how Jake seems to see Dr. Robby. Didn't you have aunties/uncles? That bond doesn't go away just because your adult(s) separate(s). |
Jake is a setup character from the start of the show, and it's clear that he's going to be what cracks Robby open (which is how it plays out). Kinda trite, but not unbelievable. |