Quincy M.E. (1976–1983): Season 7, Episode 17 - The Flight of the Nightingale - full transcript
A mistake at a hospital leads to a nurses strike which Quincy and Astin try to clear up.
You've just killed this man.
I killed one of my patients.
I would like you to handle
the autopsy personally.
Well, it seems to me you're
trying to protect the nurse.
I think it's time to
talk about a strike.
Well there is something we can
pose that can get us what we want.
A Joint Practices Program.
I mean, this place is in a
chaos. The situation is desperate.
I'm not here to join you.
You're a scab!
That's the worst scum of all!
He must have died
like someone shot him
in the head with a pistol.
Gentlemen, you
are about to enter
the most fascinating
sphere of police work,
the world of forensic medicine.
How long has he been
complaining about chest pains?
About a half hour. And
they're getting worse.
Now he's short on breath.
Mr. McCowan...
Having a little pain?
It's gettin' pretty bad.
Hard to breathe.
Called his physician?
Dr. Pierce is supposed to
check in in about an hour.
He's not available
now. Probably on route.
Collins, look at this.
His heparin's been turned off.
Now, who did that?
I don't know.
He was supposed to
be on a heparin drip.
It's right here on the orders.
I think I will talk
to Dr. Wicking.
Dr. David, please
call the operator.
Doctor... Could you
come here a minute?
Oh, Sure.
Mr. McCowan's
having trouble breathing
and Dr. Pierce
ordered a heparin drip
but the pump has
been turned off.
What's his history?
Plebitis, leg clots,
pulmonary emboli.
I'm just afraid that since his
anticoagulant's been stopped
he's forming some
new blood clots...
Some of them may
be breaking loose.
He's Dr. Pierce's patient.
I know that.
Pierce is on his way. We
just can't get in touch with him.
So, what do you think?
Should we start
the heparin again?
Listen...
You know Dr. Pierce.
I cross him and
he'll have my head.
And besides, maybe he
stopped the heparin himself.
Then why didn't he
discontinue it on the chart?
I don't know, Lynne.
But I strongly recommend that
you wait until Dr. Pierce gets here.
He is the patient's
personal physician.
What did he say?
Wait for Pierce.
Hmm. Nice bit of sidestepping.
Well, I can sympathize with him.
He's up for a
cardiology fellowship.
Pierce is on the committee. He
doesn't want to make the wrong move.
Meanwhile, what
happens to the patient?
Nothing I can do.
Doctors give the
orders around here.
Oh, boy. That's it. I'm gonna have to
diet for a week to make up for this meal.
- Wasn't that wonderful?
- Oh, my...
You know, Louise's chicken
Kiev is... Is fit for a king.
- That's the truth.
- Wow!
Now, Quincy, as a prize,
- we have a dessert
that is so special...
- Are you crazy?
A dessert? I couldn't eat another
crumb. You're outta your mind.
It's a little complicated.
I gotta help Louise.
No, no, no, no, no, no...
You've worked... Let me have...
Oh, no, no, no, no...
- No.
- Listen, you're the guest...
No. I'm not going to
be treated as a guest.
- Now, I'll help.
- You think you can
handle the china?
Are you kidding?
How do you think I worked my
way through school, for gosh sake.
Wow! Hey, that's terrific!
You're going to
moonlight some nights?
Make way for Fatty Arbuckle.
Impressive.
That's how I made my
way through medical school.
What can I do for you?
Nothing. The only difficulty
with banana flambe is the timing.
You need cold ice
cream and hot bananas.
What's the matter?
Something wrong?
Oh, nothing... Nothing.
It's just a little indigestion.
Are you sure? Can
I get you anything?
It's nothing. It's
passing. It's just a twinge.
All right, let me help
you with the dessert.
No, it's all ready.
You know. You know
what you can do for me?
You can go back outside,
you can sit down,
you can close the door
and I'm gonna carry it
in. I want you to get the full
effect of the flambe. Okay?
No, no, no, no. Go on... Out.
Out... Out.
Close the door.
Bananas flambe?
Wait until you taste it. It's
incredible. I don't care how full you are,
- you're gonna want seconds...
- Are you kiddin'...
Louise... What's the matter?
The pain... It's terrible.
- Is it your gall bladder,
like before?
- Oh it's, worse.
All right. I think we'll just
take you to the hospital.
Okay, we're going to be a
little shorthanded tonight.
So what else is new?
Would you like to continue?
Mrs. Bernstein, a left
thoracotomy as of today
still N.P.O.
She has an IV,
voiding just fine.
Chest tube is into the Pleur-evac,
twenty five centimeters of suction.
Has she required
any pain medication?
Twice. Good results.
So... Mr. McCowan, 412.
Thrombophlebitis.
He was having a little respiratory
distress a little while ago. I...
Has Dr. Pierce
come on the floor yet?
I haven't seen him.
Well, I've got a call into him.
I really need to give
him a condition report.
Um...
Where was I?
Ah... Mrs. Shanley...
Four-sixteen. Gastric
ulcer, not actively bleeding.
She has a hemoglobin
ordered for the morning and, uh,
she's on an IV, which
she would like to have out.
She's a corker. She ought
to be in wrist restraints.
Oh, she's just old.
Scared. All she
needs is a kind word
and a little tender loving care.
How can we do that when
we're understaffed now?
I think I'll quit and
join the registry.
We're crazy not to. We'd make
more money and set our own hours.
What I wouldn't give to work
just days like a normal person.
This isn't getting
us anywhere, okay?
Come on, let's just
press on, troops. Right?
Lynne, you're the charge nurse.
Can't something
be done about this?
Come on, now.
I... We ought to walk off until
the situation gets handled.
Hey, wait a minute, that's
not going to do any good.
I'm telling you that Bruckner's
trying to help us every way he can.
When did a hospital administrator
ever try to help out the nurses?
That's not fair. He's
a straight shooter.
He's just got his own problems.
Oh, yeah... Sure.
Let him come on the floor so and try
and feed and medicate thirty patients.
And bathe them, and
empty their bed pans.
Lynne...
I checked the
arrest card and, uh,
- I gotta get moving,
if you guys are done.
- Uh-huh.
And...
Mrs. Shanley is getting
fractious with me.
Okay, I'll be right in there.
Wait a minute
there's one more, uh,
there's a female patient
of Dr. Jacobs' coming in.
Room 410.
A Mrs.
Asten.
Abdominal pain,
possible gall bladder.
Let's just keep her N.P.O. until
we find out what the problem is.
That's it.
Hi, Mrs. Shanley.
How're you doin'?
I can't stand this
thing in my arm.
I want it out.
I'm gonna take it out myself
- if you won't do it.
- Ooh.
Oh, now, remember,
we talked about that.
No.
Sure, we did.
About how sick you'd get
if you didn't have that IV.
Then you couldn't have
your operation tomorrow.
I don't think I want
that operation.
I know.
But we agreed that you would
leave it in until tomorrow...
When you can talk to Dr. Frank.
Could you sit with me?
Well, uh...
It's lonely in here.
I can't sleep with
this thing in me.
I...
I just want someone to
sit with me a little while.
Mrs. Shanley, I've got a
million things to do, uh...
I'll tell you what...
I'll come back in
about half an hour
and then I'll spend a
little time with you, okay?
You're the only one
who's ever nice to me.
Oh... We try. All of us.
It's just, we're just
a little overworked.
Half an hour.
Let me just see
what's ordered here.
Dr. Jacobs is the physician.
Hi.
- I'm Ms. Buchanan.
- Hello.
- This is Mrs. Austin.
- Asten.
Asten and her husband.
She's having abdominal pain
and her X-rays have been ordered.
Oh, she hasn't
had her X-rays yet?
No, she hasn't. They
said to come up here first.
Listen, I'm gonna call X-ray.
They shouldn't make her wait.
Dr. Taylor, please
call the operator.
Dr. Taylor, please
call the operator.
Hi, it's Lynne on four.
Listen, Mrs. Asten just arrived.
She hasn't had her X-rays yet, so
I'm sending her right down, okay?
Yeah... Yeah, I
know you are, but,
uh, listen, she's
in a lot of pain.
Squeeze her in some place.
Please?
Good.
Okay, she's on her way.
All right, get her down there
before they change their minds.
- Thank you very much.
- Okay, see you later.
Lynne, will you check
on Mr. McCowan?
Oh. All right.
He's really having
trouble breathing.
I know. I checked
him last shift.
I'm sure he's throwing emboli.
His heparin if off,
and the orders clearly
indicate he should be on it.
What's his PTT?
The last lab sheets aren't here,
Mr. McCowan...
Don't worry.
We're going to take care of you.
- Should you do that?
- It's on the chart.
Just call the lab and see that
his PTT doesn't contraindicate it.
Dr. Pierce'll be here soon.
- Code Blue... Code Blue...
- Come on, let's go.
Room 401... Code
Blue... Room 401.
Uh, I don't see it, Bob,
but I know it's there.
Her white count was way
up, and so is the billirubin.
If we wait, we
risk the possibility
that the gall
bladder will rupture.
- You're saying go
ahead and take it out.
- Yes.
Uh, I wish the X-ray was a
little more conclusive, but
I don't think we should gamble.
No, absolutely not.
You go ahead with it.
Nurse, would you prepare
a surgical consent form for
Mrs. Asten?
Yes, Doctor.
I'll go speak to her now, Bob.
I'll go with you.
It'll be about an hour
before, uh, surgery.
How's that Code Blue?
He made it.
Thanks to Dr. Wicking.
Oh, I've gotta call the lab
and get the PTT on McCowan.
Hi.
Buchanan on fourth floor.
Listen, we didn't get today's
lab slips on McCowan...
Yeah, it's Mr. McCowan, Walter.
Would you check
on the PTT's for me?
Thanks.
Ms. Buchanan...
Oh...
Dr. Pierce, I'm just so
glad you got here. I...
Would you take a
look at Mr. McCowan?
His heparin was off, and he
was really having difficulties, so
I turned the IV
pump back on again.
You turned the
pump back on again?
Who the hell told
you to do that?
He's dead, Nurse.
Doctor, he was
in... Uh, in distress.
- He needed heparin.
- How the hell do you
know what he needed?
I mean, he was in crisis.
How dare you medicate
a patient without orders!
But, it was ordered!
Let me tell you something.
I turned off the
heparin this morning
because this patient had
already overshot his dosage.
That stupid little maneuver of yours
has just caused this man to bleed to death.
You understand what I am saying?
You've just killed this man.
This is Dr. Daniel Pierce.
I'm present with
Mr. James Bruckner,
administrator of
this facility, and
Nurse Lynne Buchanan.
We have agreed to
meet informally to...
Launch an investigation into
the death of Walter B. McCowan.
Dr. Pierce,
would you turn that off, please?
I agreed to meet, I did
not agree to be recorded.
It's unofficial.
Well, it is unacceptable to me.
You see, that's exactly the
arrogant attitude that got you
into trouble in the first place.
Lynne. Lynne... Please.
Uh, Dr. Pierce,
might I suggest that you put
your recording instrument aside,
just for the time being.
We did agree that
this was off the record.
Well, I suppose
you're right. Right.
Lynne, please sit down.
We may as well wait for the
depositions because you can just bet
there's gonna be all
kinds of litigation on this.
We will cross that bridge
when we come to it.
Now, Lynne, I want you to
tell me, in your own words,
exactly what happened tonight.
Why don't you tell Mr. Bruckner
exactly what prompted you
to turn that IV pump back on.
Mr. McCowan had been
suffering from chest pains and
respiratory distress.
I had thought that
it was because
somebody accidentally
turned off the heparin drip.
Didn't Dr. Wicking tell you
that I was with the patient
earlier in the day?
Yes.
But there was
nothing on the chart!
I mean, that indicated that you were
the one that turned off the pump or...
Or that you wanted
it left that way.
And so you turned the pump back
on again, against Wicking's advice.
Without even getting the
PTT's verification from the lab?
I was just calling the lab
when Dr. Pierce arrived.
Hours after you
started the drip.
We had this emergency. I...
So did Mr. McCowan.
He died...
Because a nurse
without the authority,
or the full comprehension of the situation,
administered medication that killed him.
Dr. Pierce...
I would never have
touched that machine
if you had just
left the instructions on
Mr. McCowan's chart.
Now, look, I don't need you to
tell me what my responsibilities are.
As the patients physician,
all medical decisions are mine.
Mr. Bruckner,
I am sure that you know
that there are a lot of nurses
on this hospital staff who feel
that they are not being consulted
or given the proper information.
And this,
may I say, is a case in point.
Oh, no, don't try to slither out of
this by laying the blame on me,
Ms. Buchanan.
No nurse takes the responsibility
that you took without a direct order.
No, the only fact
that concerns us here
is that you overmedicated
Mr. McCowan,
killing him just as surely
as if you'd taken a pistol
and put it to his head
and pulled the trigger.
Louise... You're
going to be fine.
You know they've got the
best people in the world here?
I mean, you're going to be right
back in your room before you know it.
I'll be waiting for you.
I'm not gonna leave your
side for a minute. Louise?
Wait. Just...
Louise, look at me.
I love you very much,
and you're gonna be just fine.
I love you, Bob.
- Hi, Doctor.
- Hi, there. How are you?
Uh... Is your wife
going into surgery?
Yeah, she just went
in. Oh, well, don't worry.
She'll be fine. Dr. Jacobs
is a good surgeon.
I know.
I just don't know why
I'm so damned scared.
When she cuts her
finger, I fall to pieces...
- Excuse me, just a...
- You know, last summer she...
Just... Just excuse me a minute.
Lynne, are you,
are you all right?
Yeah. I, uh...
I don't know, I think I'm...
I'm overworked. You know, I've
been working double shifts and I'm...
Well, maybe... Maybe we should just
sit down here for just a minute, huh?
Can I get you something?
No. Really, I'm fine. I just...
Actually, I...
I really should be helping
you at a time like this.
You did.
You know, if weren't for you...
Well, you were magnificent
when I brought Louise in.
Lynne, if there is ever anything I
can do for you, you just let me know.
You're a credit
to your profession.
This hospital is lucky...
Oh, God!
Oh, God help me.
I killed somebody tonight.
I killed one of my patients.
Lynne...
Oh, God...
Good morning, good morning!
- Good morning.
- What're you doing here?
Why aren't you with Louise?
Can you believe that
she's already sick and tired
of seeing this
wonderful, smiling face?
Oh, I'm glad the
operation turned out well.
Me, too. I've been on pins
and needles ever since I heard.
I tell you, it's a good thing we didn't
wait and took Louise right into surgery.
That gall bladder
was ready to rupture.
Instead of two hours, that
operation would have lasted
five or six, with who knows
what complications on top of it.
Well, thank God it's all over
and everything turned out so well.
- Yeah.
- Lieutenant,
we gotta get going.
- Yeah.
- Oh, yeah.
- Excuse me.
- Oh, tell Louise that
Barbara and I'll be
over to visit her tonight
and Barbara sends her best, huh?
That's terrific.
Really appreciate it.
See you later, Quincy.
Now, will you stop
worrying about this place?
There isn't anything
here that can't wait.
Well, actually, I came
here to ask you a favor.
A patient died on
Louise's floor last night.
And the patient's daughter's
blaming the hospital.
And the hospital is
blaming a wonderful nurse
who was taking care of Louise.
Blaming her for what?
Well, the man had phlebitis,
and he was suffering
great respiratory distress.
You know, clots were preventing
the blood flow in the lungs.
And Lynne Buchanan,
that's the nurse's name,
restarted a heparin drip that
had been turned off by the doctor.
Well, why would the nurse
make a decision like that?
Well, she saw the
man was suffering
and she thought someone had
accidentally turned off the pump
and even more
clots were forming.
Quincy...
There was nothing on the chart to indicate
the doctor had turned it off himself.
So the patient didn't die
from the clots that broke away?
He died because he
was over anticoagulated.
Well, that's the way it looks.
Well, what do you want me to do?
Well, I found out this morning
the patient's daughter doesn't
want the hospital pathology
department to touch the body.
They're afraid of a cover
up to avoid litigation, so
it's coming over here,
and I would like you to
handle the autopsy personally.
Well, it seems to me you're
trying to protect the nurse.
No, not protect! I just want
to make sure it's done right.
Yes, but if she gave him
too much anticoagulant,
it's gonna show up no
matter who does the autopsy.
Quincy, I'm aware of that. I
just don't want any mistakes.
If the nurse gets blamed for this,
it's the end of a wonderful career.
It's a waste I don't
even want to think about.
Lungs are heavy and large.
Let me have the scalpel, Sam.
The major pulmonary arteries
don't show any obvious embolism.
Yeah, but look at all the
hemorrhage in the lung tissue.
This much bleeding
seems to substantiate
an excessive amount
of anticoagulant.
Even the slight
damage to the capillaries
from normal breathing
could lead to hemorrhage.
Well, any way you look at it, Quincy,
if that nurse restarted the heparin drip,
she's gonna get nailed.
Well, talking
about it won't help.
We better finish up.
I'll need a complete
series of sections
on the lungs to substantiate
the amount of hemorrhage.
Okay.
You gonna call Asten?
Yeah, I promised
him I would call him
when we finished
the gross autopsy.
I guess he was hoping
for some kind of miracle.
No miracle here.
Come in.
Oh...
Please sit down.
Lynne, this is a...
This is going to be very
difficult for me to say.
Uh, you've...
You've been with us
fifteen years and uh...
A service record
that's second to none...
Unfortunately,
you must be aware that you made
a very serious error in judgment.
Yes.
I'm aware of that.
Well, Mr. McCowan's
daughter is suing the hospital.
She's naming you and
Dr. Pierce as parties to the litigation
and based on the preliminary
findings of the coroner's autopsy
we don't have much of a case.
I expected that.
Mmm.
But when it happens,
reality can be quite sobering.
And...
It forces a man in my position
to make painful decisions.
Lynne...
I hate to do this, but I
have to place you on
immediate and
indefinite suspension.
I'm sorry.
I'm... I'm truly sorry.
What're you doing?
House cleaning.
Come on, Lynne, what happened?
You want it plain and simple?
I don't want to be
a nurse anymore.
I'll believe that when
the sun stops rising.
Well it's the truth.
We've complained
about it enough, don't we?
Lousy hours, lousy pay.
Well, I have decided that
fifteen years is quite sufficient.
You've been
suspended, haven't you?
Bruckner made you the scapegoat.
Um, I think that's
what he wanted to do,
but I didn't give him a
chance because I quit.
For God's sakes,
what're you doing?
You've gotta stay
and fight the thing.
You want to know
how long I'm staying?
Just long enough to punch out
and pick up what they owe me.
Dr. Martin, please
call the operator.
Where have you been?
I've been downstairs with Lynne.
She doesn't work here
anymore. Bruckner suspended her.
What?
Pierce is the one they
should have suspended.
- Bruckner damn
well knows that.
- It's very simple.
You need a
scapegoat, pick a nurse.
What's the big flap?
- Lynne's been suspended.
- Oh, no.
In appreciation for her
fifteen loyal years of service.
She's the best nurse
I've ever known.
Like a priest.
It's not a job for her,
it's more like a calling.
Well, I'll tell you what
we ought to do, ladies.
We ought to let Bruckner
know exactly where we stand.
And then I think it's
time to talk about a strike.
To decide exactly
what it is we want to do.
And I'll be honest, I think
it's time for a showdown.
You know, people are going
to think twice about checking
into a hospital with,
uh... With picket lines and
inadequate staffs.
If Bruckner's beds
start emptying out,
he's gonna be much
more willing to talk to us.
Now, all right. Let's
say we're going to do it.
What exactly are
we going to ask for?
We have to be specific.
More money.
More staff so we can spend
more time with the patients.
I am tired of passing pills,
on the phone trying to find doctors,
or just dealing with hospital red tape.
What about the
way doctors treat us?
I'm with the patient much
more than the doctor.
There's a lot of input I could give,
but would a doctor ever listen to me?
- Never.
- It's like
the nineteenth century.
We're like handmaidens.
"Yes, Doctor. No, Doctor.
"Whatever you say, Doctor".
It's like the only reason
we exist is to do their bidding.
Times have changed.
We're highly skilled,
technically trained people.
We don't have to
be servants anymore.
Well, how're you gonna go
in with a demand like that?
We won't come back to work
until the doctors treat us better.
You can't legislate an attitude.
Yeah, well how about
if we just insist they say,
"Yes, ma'am and no, ma'am"?
Very funny.
No, no, no. There,
there is something
that we can propose
that'll get us what we want.
A Joint Practices Program.
Oh, we'll all be old and grey
before they go for that one.
No, no... There are
places where it is working.
Doctors know that nurses see their
patients much more often than they do.
They admit that nurses can observe
changes in symptoms and conditions.
And they realize that
nurses are in close touch
with the patient's
emotional attitude,
and can actually
help recovery time.
Together, doctors and nurses
can work and share responsibility
for the patient's care.
Yeah, well see, this
is no pipe dream.
This is a, a program
that can actually
benefit everybody.
That's right. I'm
gonna make a list,
and the first thing I'm gonna put down is
that we want a Joint Practices Program.
All right... Yeah!
Second,
the salary for staff nurses
has got to be brought in to line...
- Oh, please!
- Absolutely.
There's no incentive for a nurse
to stay on staff when she can quit,
join the registry,
work part-time,
and make more money
than a full-time staff nurse.
Well, there's no seniority,
or compensating for
additional education.
There's no incentive
to stay at the hospital,
- or become a better nurse.
- That's right.
We... We need more
support personnel, a secretary,
- orderlies...
- Right, right...
Housekeeping, so we
can take care of the patients
instead of changing sheets.
Hey, if we're gonna do this,
we better start talking to the
other nurses.
If just the fourth
floor walks out,
this isn't gonna be a strike,
this is gonna be a resignation.
We can do that today.
- The sooner, the better.
- I'm sure some of...
If we want the other
nurses' support,
- there's one thing
we have to have first.
- What's that?
Lynne Buchanan.
She's the most respected
nurse in that hospital.
And if she says strike
we'll have everybody behind us.
Right.
And after what they did to
her, she'll jump at the chance
to get back at them.
I can't believe you're serious!
You bet we're serious.
And you can't believe
the support we're getting.
I mean, everybody we've talked to
has just jumped on the bandwagon.
Mackie...
Do you know how unpopular
a nurses' strike is gonna be?
Well, you're just gonna
killed by the press.
And I mean,
you'll be attacked by the
medical community, and what...
What about the other nurses?
You're gonna be
out there marching
for a cause that almost nobody
understands or has any sympathy for.
You know who's
really gonna suffer?
The patients.
Look, I know you've got
good cause, but I'm telling you,
there's gotta be some
other way to do it.
You know what's
the matter with you?
You've been so busy being
Florence Nightingale all your life
you never bothered to look
around and see what's going on.
Wait a minute, that's not fair.
Never mind that
the pay is rotten
and the work's exhausting
and the doctors treat
you like a floor mop...
- Do you think that I don't...
- I mean, it frosts me!
You. People like you
could make a difference.
You... You... You
could be an influence.
Because
you're loved.
You're respected.
People listen to you.
I know it's an ugly job
to strike a hospital.
Walk out on patients?
Some of them may
not get the right care.
Don't you see? Somebody
finally has to just stand up and say
"Hold it, we've had enough!"
Mackie...
Listen.
We've been through a
lot together, haven't we?
Pretty idealistic when we
started out, weren't we?
Something...
Something's happened to you.
I mean, you've really gotten
bitter. You're... You're...
You're so caught
up in the injustices
that you've suffered,
you've kinda lost track
of what's really important.
It's the patients.
That's what being a nurse
is all about. You just...
You forgot that
somewhere along the way.
Frankly, your opinion of me
doesn't interested me in the slightest.
What hurts
is that you're not
going to support us.
And you're not, are you?
No.
Because I don't think the
strike is the right thing to do.
And besides, I
have decided that...
I'm never going
back to nursing again.
Dr. Egan, please
call the operating...
Dr. Egan, please call...
You don't suppose his...
Hello, Dr. Asten...
Mrs. Asten.
Dr. Jacobs got tied up and
he asked me to look in on you.
How're you doing today?
I'm fine, Doctor.
But how are you doing with
all those nurses out on strike?
Well, it is a little
rough out there today.
We've only got one
registry nurse trying to cover
the entire floor with
a couple of aides.
I wanted to see more of
that nice nurse, Buchanan,
but I guess she's out there
with a sign on her shoulder.
No. No, as a matter
of fact, she isn't.
- She was suspended.
- Suspended?
You mean because
of the patient's death?
Yes.
And she was such
a devoted nurse.
I can't believe the
hospital would suspend her.
She was the kind
of compassionate,
caring person that
really should be a nurse.
Well, I'm expecting some
more staff in on the 3:00 shift
if you can hang on until then.
- All right, fine.
- Jim, thank God you're here.
I mean, this place is in a
chaos. The situation is desperate.
Now, I'm going to have
to transfer my patients.
V/ell, we'll have it under control
in a couple of hours, I'm sure.
If we get through today.
Yeah, what're you gonna do about
those nurses marching out there?
I say, fire them all.
Let them just hang out
there until they're starving
and come back
begging for their jobs.
Right now I'm simply trying to
get this hospital functioning again.
First things first.
Oh, listen, uh. Can you pitch in and
take some of those phone calls for me?
You want me to be a nurse?
Are you out of your mind?
- Dr. Asten...
- Oh, morning, Quincy.
Why the long face?
Something wrong with Louise?
Oh, no. Louise
is fine. It's, uh...
It's that nurse I
told you about.
- Lynne Buchanan.
- Yeah...
She was suspended
by the hospital.
It leaves a bad
taste in my mouth.
I suppose there's nothing
can be done about it...
Well, maybe there is. I started examining
the sections from the McCowan case.
I think there's something
you should see.
See what I mean?
Yeah.
Several of the small
pulmonary arteries are packed
with microscopic emboli.
Did you find this in the other sections
enough to have produced Cor pulmonale?
Oh, yeah. There are
blood clots blocking
enough of the arteries in his lungs
to have caused a sudden increase
of the pressure on the
right side of the heart.
Like choking off a hose,
and then having pressure
build behind the blockage.
But how on earth would
that have caused his death?
Let's take another
look at the body.
Let's see what further damage
was caused by the pressure.
- Who is it?
- It's me, Dr. Wicking.
Well, hi, there!
Come on in.
Thanks.
Don't tell me they're getting
so desperate for nurses
that you're coming to me?
Oh, I wish it were that easy,
Lynne. I'd have you back in a minute.
Well, sit down.
Oh, thanks.
Things pretty rough over there?
Oh!
Well, we're hanging in.
Today is better
than yesterday was.
Of course, naturally,
it's the patients
who are getting the
short end of the stick.
I got a feeling you didn't
come all the way over here
just to give me a progress
report on the nurses strike.
No, you're right.
I had a favor to ask.
What?
Do you remember Mrs. Shanley?
Oh, sure!
How's she doing?
Still trying to take her IV out?
Yeah. She's quite a handful.
You know,
she always reminds me of myself.
I think I would make an
absolutely terrible patient.
Well, she's, uh, scheduled
to go in for surgery tomorrow.
To resect that bleeding
ulcer in her stomach.
But she refuses to go.
I bet she's scared.
Yeah. Yeah, that's what I think.
Well, she says it's
because you're not there.
So, I was, uh...
Wondering if... If you might...
You know, sort
of... Pay her a visit.
I'm not sure that I could even
walk into that hospital again.
Do you know what that
suspension did to me?
It made me decide
to leave nursing.
Besides that, I mean,
there's a strike going on.
All my friends are over there
walking on the picket line.
I have to cross that line to
get into the hospital. I mean,
can you imagine what their
reaction would be to that?
Yeah, well, I.
I know how you feel.
And, uh...
Those are two real good
reasons for not going.
I guess there's just one argument
on the other side, and that's
the fact that she
was your patient.
She's a very sick lady,
who really needs you.
Nice try.
I just can't do it.
I'm not a nurse anymore.
The blood clots that formed in
his legs from the phlebitis
broke loose as emboli and
flowed through the right
side of the heart to the lung.
They were trapped in smaller
arteries, as we saw in the sections.
They definitely would have increased
the pressure in the right heart.
But there weren't enough arteries
plugged in the lungs to have killed him.
The emboli are too big to have
gotten through the lungs
into the rest of the circulation.
I agree. That's
why there has to be
something else
here that killed him.
Let's look at the heart.
Wait a minute.
Look at this little flap
between the left and right atria.
See if you can lift it up.
Moves like a trap door.
Hmm.
So if the pressure
increased in the right heart,
the flap would
open, and anything in
the right atrium, like blood
clots, could shoot across to
- the left side of the heart.
- That's absolutely right.
Let's check the carotid arteries,
the blood flow to the brain.
Here, take a look, Quincy.
Here's the reason McCowan died.
It wasn't because of the slow oozing of
blood because of too much anticoagulant.
It's because a blood clot
shot into the carotid arteries,
blocking the blood
flow to the brain.
He must have died
like someone shot him
in the head with a pistol.
Didn't you tell him we have
a whole list of grievances?
Of course I did.
He told me, in
essence, to buzz off.
They won't even listen to us.
I have a feeling our
grandchildren are gonna be
visiting us on this picket line.
- Oh, hey... Look who's here!
- I knew she
couldn't stay away.
Oh... Oh, are we
glad to see you!
Listen, I'm sorry. I'm, I'm...
I'm not here to join you.
Well, why are you here?
I'm going inside.
Dr. Wicking came to see me and
told me that Mrs.
Shanley really needs me.
What?
You really want to
rub it in, don't you?
You're too much of a
coward to be out here with us.
You're going to cross the lines
and go in there and help them out.
You're aiding and abetting
the enemy, Buchanan.
If that's what you call it...
That's what we call it!
You're a traitor!
You're a scab!
That's the worst scum of all!
Please try to understand. I...
I've just gotta do this.
I don't believe this.
I don't believe this...
Hello, Mrs. Shanley.
Oh, Lynne, how
nice of you to come.
- Brought you something.
- Oh...
Sonnets from the Portuguese.
I remembered that you like them.
I do.
Listen, I've got one special one
that I want to
read for you, okay?
"'I thought once how..."
- How do you say it?
- Theocritus.
"'...Theocritus
"had sung of the sweet years,
"the dear and wish'd, for years,
"Who each one in a gracious
hand appears to bear a gift
"for mortals
- "old..."
- "...old and young."
Oh, Lynne...
I'm so frightened.
I understand that.
No one has an operation
who isn't frightened.
I know.
You... You think I'm old
and have lived a long life.
Everybody wants to live
as long as they can.
Everybody's got that right.
There's still so much
to be done.
That's why you got
to have the operation.
Because it's going to
give you some more time.
Time!
More sunrises
sunsets.
Visits to your grandchildren.
How about all those other
trips you haven't taken, hmm?
Yosemite...
Ever been to Niagara Falls?
You can just reach
out and have all of that
with one...
Just
one simple decision.
But I'm afraid, because
you won't be here.
You'll be down striking,
and I'll have some
substitute nurse
who's untrained and...
I want you to
understand something.
Those registry nurses
that are helping up
there in the operating
room are just excellent.
Well, I mean, they've been
around a lot longer than I have.
But you're the only one I trust.
Then do trust me.
You're strong,
you love life, and you're
just going to come
through this fine.
I really care about
you, Mrs. Shanley.
Oh, Lynne...
But this...
This can't be my decision.
It's gotta be yours.
I know.
Dr. David, please
call the operator.
Dr. David, please
call the operator.
Lynne!
- You're a hard person to find.
- Oh... Hi, there!
I've been looking
all over for you.
You know, I finally asked
one of the people on the...
On the picket line. They
said that you were in here.
Yeah. Well, I'm on
my way home now.
Lynne, listen. You're clear.
You're absolutely clear of all
responsibility for McCowan's death.
What... What are
you talking about?
We reautopsied the body.
We found something that
we hadn't found before.
He didn't die because he
was over anticoagulated.
He died from a shower of emboli
that stopped the flow
of blood to the brain.
You mean, it was a blood clot.
We found an
abnormality in the heart.
A tiny flap, leading from
the right side to the left,
which usually closes at birth,
but didn't. See,
during the attack
pressure increased
on the right side.
Some of the clots shot
through the flap, over to the left,
up the carotid
arteries, plugging them
and stopping the flow
of blood to the brain.
It had nothing to do
with heparin at all.
No, nothing. Absolutely nothing.
Of course, Dr. Pierce,
he's still bellowing.
He says you
overstepped your bounds.
But Mr. Bruckner
understands completely.
He wants to reinstate you
the minute the strike is over.
You may not believe this, but,
uh... I don't want
to be reinstated.
Lynne, I don't want to intrude
on your personal life but,
you know, I think what you're
feeling now is justifiable anger
at the way you've been treated.
Sometimes it takes just a
good swift kick to wake you up.
I don't think I've got it
anymore, you know?
That real commitment
that it takes to be a nurse.
Well, I'm a doctor.
I certainly understand how we
have those feelings sometimes.
But see, if you've lost your commitment,
there's something I don't understand.
Why'd you cross the picket line?
Why did you come in here today?
To visit a friend?
Oh, it's Mrs. Shanley.
Oh, she's a terrific lady.
- Oh, she's a patient?
- Yeah.
Well, she used to be.
So, you risked all that
scorn and alienation
and abuse to visit someone
who used to be your patient.
Dr. Asten, she was
refusing surgery
which was absolutely necessary.
I just thought maybe she
might need a little reassurance.
And you gave it to her.
In other words, you
crossed the picket line
made up of all your friends...
People that you've worked
with every day of the week,
because you had
to show compassion
for a needful patient.
Lynne,
if that isn't commitment
would you please explain to me
what is?
Okay... Okay...
I guess we're all here,
so we might as well begin.
Uh, the reason I
called this meeting
is because I've become convinced
that we're not going
to solve anything
until we start
talking to each other.
Now, we have a lot of adament
people on both sides of the fence
and I don't think
anything is gonna happen
until we have honest
and direct communication.
So,
even if we don't
reach any conclusions
I think we should try to
get our grievances
out in the open
and deal with them like
mature adults.
Now, the alternative
is to go on in chaos, confusion,
and the real victims
are gonna continue to be
the patients who've entrusted
themselves to our care.
Why don't you cut out
all the rhetorical baloney
and just ask them how
much more they want?
Yeah, we want more money.
But... But it goes far beyond
the money, Dr. Pierce.
We want more involvement,
more responsibility.
Otherwise, how can
you expect anyone with
brains and ambition
to want to stay?
Oh, brains I don't mind. It's
the ambition that scares me.
Now, you take Ms. Buchanan.
She has ambitions,
and it causes her to
go around the hospital
making decisions
that could kill a patient.
Dr. Pierce,
she made one decision one time.
But that one was
quite enough, wasn't it?
Or didn't you suspend her.
I suspended her because
I erroneously thought
that Mr. McCowan had
died from too much heparin.
To my shame,
I took that action,
even though at the time I
felt that your failure to include
the information on
McCowan's chart
made you equally responsible.
What transpires between
me and my patients
is strictly my business.
Excuse me, Mr. Bruckner.
Could I say something?
Yes. Yes, of course,
That's why we're here.
Thank you.
I really wasn't planning
to speak today. I, uh...
As you know,
I have not been a
part of this strike.
I felt that I really didn't have the
right to participate in any discussion.
I was just...
So devastated...
By what I thought was my
involvement in Mr. McCowan's death,
that I guess I just
ran away and hid,
you know, mentally,
behind a lot of childish
anger and self-deception.
Well, now I really do
want to say something.
Because I want to
make it absolutely clear
that the central issue in
this strike is not just money.
What we want is more involvement
in our patients and their care.
We want to be nurses,
and we want you
to respect us for that.
We've lived
too long
with too much abuse
from too many of you.
Gentlemen, I want you to know
the world is changing,
and we are changing with it.
And if you don't change, if you
don't become a part of that progress
I can promise you one thing.
That the nursing situation is
just gonna get worse. Right?
I hear a lot of
emotion coming out,
but I wish you'd
be more specific.
You say you want more
involvement with your patients
but what exactly does that mean?
Well, I...
I mean, I haven't had a chance,
you know, to discuss this with
any of the nurses here, but...
I think they would all
agree that the one thing
that would really please us is
a Joint Practices Program.
She's absolutely right.
That's the first...
That's the most
important demand
we put on the list.
Joint Practices, huh?
Pretty soon the inmates
will be running the institution.
Dr. Pierce, why don't
you just for once...
Why don't... Why don't
you just shut up and listen?
Uh...
I'm sorry.
Please, uh, go on and tell us more
about the Joint Practices Program.
Well, uh... Uh,
actually, it's very simple.
It's a system in which
the doctors and nurses
share in the responsibility
of the planning
and executing of patient care.
We become a team.
Work together for the
benefit of everybody involved.
Now, hasn't this, uh, been
tried somewhere else before?
Yeah. With great success.
Look, gentlemen,
we really don't want to
rob you of your authority.
All we want to do is to raise
our profession
to a level of excellence
that truly benefits
the patients and the hospital.
Please, just...
Just let us be what we are.
Let the word nurse
mean what it should
and... And let the
profession of nursing
become a lifelong pursuit,
to which we can truly
dedicate our energies
and our emotion and...
Our soul.
Code Blue, CCU. Code Blue, CCU.
Hey, where you been?
I've been looking for you.
I'm sorry. I was
sitting with Mr. Milligan.
Sitting...
With Mr. Milligan?
Well, you know how it is. He...
He's never been in a
hospital before in his whole life.
And he's one of these men, you
know, who's used to being in control...
So there he is, and
he's very nervous.
Mmm, so you sat with him?
Yeah, I did.
Turns out he's an
old Detroit Tigers fan.
So we got in a big argument about whether
Harvey Kuenn ever really helped the team.
So what's wrong with that?
Oh, nothing. No. No.
As a matter of fact, it seems
to me that you are enjoying
your work more than
you have in years.
I am.
I know the Joint Practices thing
is just on a trial basis, but
it seems to me it's working.
Well, you know that Dr. Wicking
actually asked my opinion about
a patient's condition this morning?
Be still, my heart.
Wicking's one thing.
When Pierce does it
then we know
we've really made it.
- Hi!
- Well, how are you doing?
I feel wonderful.
My stitches came out
and I'm healing beautifully.
You look terrific. Of
course, she's not ready to
run a marathon yet, but she's
doing pretty well for a recent post-op.
We just wanted to thank you
again for all your kindness.
- Well...
- We'll see you.
- Bye-bye.
- Bye.
Take it easy.
I killed one of my patients.
I would like you to handle
the autopsy personally.
Well, it seems to me you're
trying to protect the nurse.
I think it's time to
talk about a strike.
Well there is something we can
pose that can get us what we want.
A Joint Practices Program.
I mean, this place is in a
chaos. The situation is desperate.
I'm not here to join you.
You're a scab!
That's the worst scum of all!
He must have died
like someone shot him
in the head with a pistol.
Gentlemen, you
are about to enter
the most fascinating
sphere of police work,
the world of forensic medicine.
How long has he been
complaining about chest pains?
About a half hour. And
they're getting worse.
Now he's short on breath.
Mr. McCowan...
Having a little pain?
It's gettin' pretty bad.
Hard to breathe.
Called his physician?
Dr. Pierce is supposed to
check in in about an hour.
He's not available
now. Probably on route.
Collins, look at this.
His heparin's been turned off.
Now, who did that?
I don't know.
He was supposed to
be on a heparin drip.
It's right here on the orders.
I think I will talk
to Dr. Wicking.
Dr. David, please
call the operator.
Doctor... Could you
come here a minute?
Oh, Sure.
Mr. McCowan's
having trouble breathing
and Dr. Pierce
ordered a heparin drip
but the pump has
been turned off.
What's his history?
Plebitis, leg clots,
pulmonary emboli.
I'm just afraid that since his
anticoagulant's been stopped
he's forming some
new blood clots...
Some of them may
be breaking loose.
He's Dr. Pierce's patient.
I know that.
Pierce is on his way. We
just can't get in touch with him.
So, what do you think?
Should we start
the heparin again?
Listen...
You know Dr. Pierce.
I cross him and
he'll have my head.
And besides, maybe he
stopped the heparin himself.
Then why didn't he
discontinue it on the chart?
I don't know, Lynne.
But I strongly recommend that
you wait until Dr. Pierce gets here.
He is the patient's
personal physician.
What did he say?
Wait for Pierce.
Hmm. Nice bit of sidestepping.
Well, I can sympathize with him.
He's up for a
cardiology fellowship.
Pierce is on the committee. He
doesn't want to make the wrong move.
Meanwhile, what
happens to the patient?
Nothing I can do.
Doctors give the
orders around here.
Oh, boy. That's it. I'm gonna have to
diet for a week to make up for this meal.
- Wasn't that wonderful?
- Oh, my...
You know, Louise's chicken
Kiev is... Is fit for a king.
- That's the truth.
- Wow!
Now, Quincy, as a prize,
- we have a dessert
that is so special...
- Are you crazy?
A dessert? I couldn't eat another
crumb. You're outta your mind.
It's a little complicated.
I gotta help Louise.
No, no, no, no, no, no...
You've worked... Let me have...
Oh, no, no, no, no...
- No.
- Listen, you're the guest...
No. I'm not going to
be treated as a guest.
- Now, I'll help.
- You think you can
handle the china?
Are you kidding?
How do you think I worked my
way through school, for gosh sake.
Wow! Hey, that's terrific!
You're going to
moonlight some nights?
Make way for Fatty Arbuckle.
Impressive.
That's how I made my
way through medical school.
What can I do for you?
Nothing. The only difficulty
with banana flambe is the timing.
You need cold ice
cream and hot bananas.
What's the matter?
Something wrong?
Oh, nothing... Nothing.
It's just a little indigestion.
Are you sure? Can
I get you anything?
It's nothing. It's
passing. It's just a twinge.
All right, let me help
you with the dessert.
No, it's all ready.
You know. You know
what you can do for me?
You can go back outside,
you can sit down,
you can close the door
and I'm gonna carry it
in. I want you to get the full
effect of the flambe. Okay?
No, no, no, no. Go on... Out.
Out... Out.
Close the door.
Bananas flambe?
Wait until you taste it. It's
incredible. I don't care how full you are,
- you're gonna want seconds...
- Are you kiddin'...
Louise... What's the matter?
The pain... It's terrible.
- Is it your gall bladder,
like before?
- Oh it's, worse.
All right. I think we'll just
take you to the hospital.
Okay, we're going to be a
little shorthanded tonight.
So what else is new?
Would you like to continue?
Mrs. Bernstein, a left
thoracotomy as of today
still N.P.O.
She has an IV,
voiding just fine.
Chest tube is into the Pleur-evac,
twenty five centimeters of suction.
Has she required
any pain medication?
Twice. Good results.
So... Mr. McCowan, 412.
Thrombophlebitis.
He was having a little respiratory
distress a little while ago. I...
Has Dr. Pierce
come on the floor yet?
I haven't seen him.
Well, I've got a call into him.
I really need to give
him a condition report.
Um...
Where was I?
Ah... Mrs. Shanley...
Four-sixteen. Gastric
ulcer, not actively bleeding.
She has a hemoglobin
ordered for the morning and, uh,
she's on an IV, which
she would like to have out.
She's a corker. She ought
to be in wrist restraints.
Oh, she's just old.
Scared. All she
needs is a kind word
and a little tender loving care.
How can we do that when
we're understaffed now?
I think I'll quit and
join the registry.
We're crazy not to. We'd make
more money and set our own hours.
What I wouldn't give to work
just days like a normal person.
This isn't getting
us anywhere, okay?
Come on, let's just
press on, troops. Right?
Lynne, you're the charge nurse.
Can't something
be done about this?
Come on, now.
I... We ought to walk off until
the situation gets handled.
Hey, wait a minute, that's
not going to do any good.
I'm telling you that Bruckner's
trying to help us every way he can.
When did a hospital administrator
ever try to help out the nurses?
That's not fair. He's
a straight shooter.
He's just got his own problems.
Oh, yeah... Sure.
Let him come on the floor so and try
and feed and medicate thirty patients.
And bathe them, and
empty their bed pans.
Lynne...
I checked the
arrest card and, uh,
- I gotta get moving,
if you guys are done.
- Uh-huh.
And...
Mrs. Shanley is getting
fractious with me.
Okay, I'll be right in there.
Wait a minute
there's one more, uh,
there's a female patient
of Dr. Jacobs' coming in.
Room 410.
A Mrs.
Asten.
Abdominal pain,
possible gall bladder.
Let's just keep her N.P.O. until
we find out what the problem is.
That's it.
Hi, Mrs. Shanley.
How're you doin'?
I can't stand this
thing in my arm.
I want it out.
I'm gonna take it out myself
- if you won't do it.
- Ooh.
Oh, now, remember,
we talked about that.
No.
Sure, we did.
About how sick you'd get
if you didn't have that IV.
Then you couldn't have
your operation tomorrow.
I don't think I want
that operation.
I know.
But we agreed that you would
leave it in until tomorrow...
When you can talk to Dr. Frank.
Could you sit with me?
Well, uh...
It's lonely in here.
I can't sleep with
this thing in me.
I...
I just want someone to
sit with me a little while.
Mrs. Shanley, I've got a
million things to do, uh...
I'll tell you what...
I'll come back in
about half an hour
and then I'll spend a
little time with you, okay?
You're the only one
who's ever nice to me.
Oh... We try. All of us.
It's just, we're just
a little overworked.
Half an hour.
Let me just see
what's ordered here.
Dr. Jacobs is the physician.
Hi.
- I'm Ms. Buchanan.
- Hello.
- This is Mrs. Austin.
- Asten.
Asten and her husband.
She's having abdominal pain
and her X-rays have been ordered.
Oh, she hasn't
had her X-rays yet?
No, she hasn't. They
said to come up here first.
Listen, I'm gonna call X-ray.
They shouldn't make her wait.
Dr. Taylor, please
call the operator.
Dr. Taylor, please
call the operator.
Hi, it's Lynne on four.
Listen, Mrs. Asten just arrived.
She hasn't had her X-rays yet, so
I'm sending her right down, okay?
Yeah... Yeah, I
know you are, but,
uh, listen, she's
in a lot of pain.
Squeeze her in some place.
Please?
Good.
Okay, she's on her way.
All right, get her down there
before they change their minds.
- Thank you very much.
- Okay, see you later.
Lynne, will you check
on Mr. McCowan?
Oh. All right.
He's really having
trouble breathing.
I know. I checked
him last shift.
I'm sure he's throwing emboli.
His heparin if off,
and the orders clearly
indicate he should be on it.
What's his PTT?
The last lab sheets aren't here,
Mr. McCowan...
Don't worry.
We're going to take care of you.
- Should you do that?
- It's on the chart.
Just call the lab and see that
his PTT doesn't contraindicate it.
Dr. Pierce'll be here soon.
- Code Blue... Code Blue...
- Come on, let's go.
Room 401... Code
Blue... Room 401.
Uh, I don't see it, Bob,
but I know it's there.
Her white count was way
up, and so is the billirubin.
If we wait, we
risk the possibility
that the gall
bladder will rupture.
- You're saying go
ahead and take it out.
- Yes.
Uh, I wish the X-ray was a
little more conclusive, but
I don't think we should gamble.
No, absolutely not.
You go ahead with it.
Nurse, would you prepare
a surgical consent form for
Mrs. Asten?
Yes, Doctor.
I'll go speak to her now, Bob.
I'll go with you.
It'll be about an hour
before, uh, surgery.
How's that Code Blue?
He made it.
Thanks to Dr. Wicking.
Oh, I've gotta call the lab
and get the PTT on McCowan.
Hi.
Buchanan on fourth floor.
Listen, we didn't get today's
lab slips on McCowan...
Yeah, it's Mr. McCowan, Walter.
Would you check
on the PTT's for me?
Thanks.
Ms. Buchanan...
Oh...
Dr. Pierce, I'm just so
glad you got here. I...
Would you take a
look at Mr. McCowan?
His heparin was off, and he
was really having difficulties, so
I turned the IV
pump back on again.
You turned the
pump back on again?
Who the hell told
you to do that?
He's dead, Nurse.
Doctor, he was
in... Uh, in distress.
- He needed heparin.
- How the hell do you
know what he needed?
I mean, he was in crisis.
How dare you medicate
a patient without orders!
But, it was ordered!
Let me tell you something.
I turned off the
heparin this morning
because this patient had
already overshot his dosage.
That stupid little maneuver of yours
has just caused this man to bleed to death.
You understand what I am saying?
You've just killed this man.
This is Dr. Daniel Pierce.
I'm present with
Mr. James Bruckner,
administrator of
this facility, and
Nurse Lynne Buchanan.
We have agreed to
meet informally to...
Launch an investigation into
the death of Walter B. McCowan.
Dr. Pierce,
would you turn that off, please?
I agreed to meet, I did
not agree to be recorded.
It's unofficial.
Well, it is unacceptable to me.
You see, that's exactly the
arrogant attitude that got you
into trouble in the first place.
Lynne. Lynne... Please.
Uh, Dr. Pierce,
might I suggest that you put
your recording instrument aside,
just for the time being.
We did agree that
this was off the record.
Well, I suppose
you're right. Right.
Lynne, please sit down.
We may as well wait for the
depositions because you can just bet
there's gonna be all
kinds of litigation on this.
We will cross that bridge
when we come to it.
Now, Lynne, I want you to
tell me, in your own words,
exactly what happened tonight.
Why don't you tell Mr. Bruckner
exactly what prompted you
to turn that IV pump back on.
Mr. McCowan had been
suffering from chest pains and
respiratory distress.
I had thought that
it was because
somebody accidentally
turned off the heparin drip.
Didn't Dr. Wicking tell you
that I was with the patient
earlier in the day?
Yes.
But there was
nothing on the chart!
I mean, that indicated that you were
the one that turned off the pump or...
Or that you wanted
it left that way.
And so you turned the pump back
on again, against Wicking's advice.
Without even getting the
PTT's verification from the lab?
I was just calling the lab
when Dr. Pierce arrived.
Hours after you
started the drip.
We had this emergency. I...
So did Mr. McCowan.
He died...
Because a nurse
without the authority,
or the full comprehension of the situation,
administered medication that killed him.
Dr. Pierce...
I would never have
touched that machine
if you had just
left the instructions on
Mr. McCowan's chart.
Now, look, I don't need you to
tell me what my responsibilities are.
As the patients physician,
all medical decisions are mine.
Mr. Bruckner,
I am sure that you know
that there are a lot of nurses
on this hospital staff who feel
that they are not being consulted
or given the proper information.
And this,
may I say, is a case in point.
Oh, no, don't try to slither out of
this by laying the blame on me,
Ms. Buchanan.
No nurse takes the responsibility
that you took without a direct order.
No, the only fact
that concerns us here
is that you overmedicated
Mr. McCowan,
killing him just as surely
as if you'd taken a pistol
and put it to his head
and pulled the trigger.
Louise... You're
going to be fine.
You know they've got the
best people in the world here?
I mean, you're going to be right
back in your room before you know it.
I'll be waiting for you.
I'm not gonna leave your
side for a minute. Louise?
Wait. Just...
Louise, look at me.
I love you very much,
and you're gonna be just fine.
I love you, Bob.
- Hi, Doctor.
- Hi, there. How are you?
Uh... Is your wife
going into surgery?
Yeah, she just went
in. Oh, well, don't worry.
She'll be fine. Dr. Jacobs
is a good surgeon.
I know.
I just don't know why
I'm so damned scared.
When she cuts her
finger, I fall to pieces...
- Excuse me, just a...
- You know, last summer she...
Just... Just excuse me a minute.
Lynne, are you,
are you all right?
Yeah. I, uh...
I don't know, I think I'm...
I'm overworked. You know, I've
been working double shifts and I'm...
Well, maybe... Maybe we should just
sit down here for just a minute, huh?
Can I get you something?
No. Really, I'm fine. I just...
Actually, I...
I really should be helping
you at a time like this.
You did.
You know, if weren't for you...
Well, you were magnificent
when I brought Louise in.
Lynne, if there is ever anything I
can do for you, you just let me know.
You're a credit
to your profession.
This hospital is lucky...
Oh, God!
Oh, God help me.
I killed somebody tonight.
I killed one of my patients.
Lynne...
Oh, God...
Good morning, good morning!
- Good morning.
- What're you doing here?
Why aren't you with Louise?
Can you believe that
she's already sick and tired
of seeing this
wonderful, smiling face?
Oh, I'm glad the
operation turned out well.
Me, too. I've been on pins
and needles ever since I heard.
I tell you, it's a good thing we didn't
wait and took Louise right into surgery.
That gall bladder
was ready to rupture.
Instead of two hours, that
operation would have lasted
five or six, with who knows
what complications on top of it.
Well, thank God it's all over
and everything turned out so well.
- Yeah.
- Lieutenant,
we gotta get going.
- Yeah.
- Oh, yeah.
- Excuse me.
- Oh, tell Louise that
Barbara and I'll be
over to visit her tonight
and Barbara sends her best, huh?
That's terrific.
Really appreciate it.
See you later, Quincy.
Now, will you stop
worrying about this place?
There isn't anything
here that can't wait.
Well, actually, I came
here to ask you a favor.
A patient died on
Louise's floor last night.
And the patient's daughter's
blaming the hospital.
And the hospital is
blaming a wonderful nurse
who was taking care of Louise.
Blaming her for what?
Well, the man had phlebitis,
and he was suffering
great respiratory distress.
You know, clots were preventing
the blood flow in the lungs.
And Lynne Buchanan,
that's the nurse's name,
restarted a heparin drip that
had been turned off by the doctor.
Well, why would the nurse
make a decision like that?
Well, she saw the
man was suffering
and she thought someone had
accidentally turned off the pump
and even more
clots were forming.
Quincy...
There was nothing on the chart to indicate
the doctor had turned it off himself.
So the patient didn't die
from the clots that broke away?
He died because he
was over anticoagulated.
Well, that's the way it looks.
Well, what do you want me to do?
Well, I found out this morning
the patient's daughter doesn't
want the hospital pathology
department to touch the body.
They're afraid of a cover
up to avoid litigation, so
it's coming over here,
and I would like you to
handle the autopsy personally.
Well, it seems to me you're
trying to protect the nurse.
No, not protect! I just want
to make sure it's done right.
Yes, but if she gave him
too much anticoagulant,
it's gonna show up no
matter who does the autopsy.
Quincy, I'm aware of that. I
just don't want any mistakes.
If the nurse gets blamed for this,
it's the end of a wonderful career.
It's a waste I don't
even want to think about.
Lungs are heavy and large.
Let me have the scalpel, Sam.
The major pulmonary arteries
don't show any obvious embolism.
Yeah, but look at all the
hemorrhage in the lung tissue.
This much bleeding
seems to substantiate
an excessive amount
of anticoagulant.
Even the slight
damage to the capillaries
from normal breathing
could lead to hemorrhage.
Well, any way you look at it, Quincy,
if that nurse restarted the heparin drip,
she's gonna get nailed.
Well, talking
about it won't help.
We better finish up.
I'll need a complete
series of sections
on the lungs to substantiate
the amount of hemorrhage.
Okay.
You gonna call Asten?
Yeah, I promised
him I would call him
when we finished
the gross autopsy.
I guess he was hoping
for some kind of miracle.
No miracle here.
Come in.
Oh...
Please sit down.
Lynne, this is a...
This is going to be very
difficult for me to say.
Uh, you've...
You've been with us
fifteen years and uh...
A service record
that's second to none...
Unfortunately,
you must be aware that you made
a very serious error in judgment.
Yes.
I'm aware of that.
Well, Mr. McCowan's
daughter is suing the hospital.
She's naming you and
Dr. Pierce as parties to the litigation
and based on the preliminary
findings of the coroner's autopsy
we don't have much of a case.
I expected that.
Mmm.
But when it happens,
reality can be quite sobering.
And...
It forces a man in my position
to make painful decisions.
Lynne...
I hate to do this, but I
have to place you on
immediate and
indefinite suspension.
I'm sorry.
I'm... I'm truly sorry.
What're you doing?
House cleaning.
Come on, Lynne, what happened?
You want it plain and simple?
I don't want to be
a nurse anymore.
I'll believe that when
the sun stops rising.
Well it's the truth.
We've complained
about it enough, don't we?
Lousy hours, lousy pay.
Well, I have decided that
fifteen years is quite sufficient.
You've been
suspended, haven't you?
Bruckner made you the scapegoat.
Um, I think that's
what he wanted to do,
but I didn't give him a
chance because I quit.
For God's sakes,
what're you doing?
You've gotta stay
and fight the thing.
You want to know
how long I'm staying?
Just long enough to punch out
and pick up what they owe me.
Dr. Martin, please
call the operator.
Where have you been?
I've been downstairs with Lynne.
She doesn't work here
anymore. Bruckner suspended her.
What?
Pierce is the one they
should have suspended.
- Bruckner damn
well knows that.
- It's very simple.
You need a
scapegoat, pick a nurse.
What's the big flap?
- Lynne's been suspended.
- Oh, no.
In appreciation for her
fifteen loyal years of service.
She's the best nurse
I've ever known.
Like a priest.
It's not a job for her,
it's more like a calling.
Well, I'll tell you what
we ought to do, ladies.
We ought to let Bruckner
know exactly where we stand.
And then I think it's
time to talk about a strike.
To decide exactly
what it is we want to do.
And I'll be honest, I think
it's time for a showdown.
You know, people are going
to think twice about checking
into a hospital with,
uh... With picket lines and
inadequate staffs.
If Bruckner's beds
start emptying out,
he's gonna be much
more willing to talk to us.
Now, all right. Let's
say we're going to do it.
What exactly are
we going to ask for?
We have to be specific.
More money.
More staff so we can spend
more time with the patients.
I am tired of passing pills,
on the phone trying to find doctors,
or just dealing with hospital red tape.
What about the
way doctors treat us?
I'm with the patient much
more than the doctor.
There's a lot of input I could give,
but would a doctor ever listen to me?
- Never.
- It's like
the nineteenth century.
We're like handmaidens.
"Yes, Doctor. No, Doctor.
"Whatever you say, Doctor".
It's like the only reason
we exist is to do their bidding.
Times have changed.
We're highly skilled,
technically trained people.
We don't have to
be servants anymore.
Well, how're you gonna go
in with a demand like that?
We won't come back to work
until the doctors treat us better.
You can't legislate an attitude.
Yeah, well how about
if we just insist they say,
"Yes, ma'am and no, ma'am"?
Very funny.
No, no, no. There,
there is something
that we can propose
that'll get us what we want.
A Joint Practices Program.
Oh, we'll all be old and grey
before they go for that one.
No, no... There are
places where it is working.
Doctors know that nurses see their
patients much more often than they do.
They admit that nurses can observe
changes in symptoms and conditions.
And they realize that
nurses are in close touch
with the patient's
emotional attitude,
and can actually
help recovery time.
Together, doctors and nurses
can work and share responsibility
for the patient's care.
Yeah, well see, this
is no pipe dream.
This is a, a program
that can actually
benefit everybody.
That's right. I'm
gonna make a list,
and the first thing I'm gonna put down is
that we want a Joint Practices Program.
All right... Yeah!
Second,
the salary for staff nurses
has got to be brought in to line...
- Oh, please!
- Absolutely.
There's no incentive for a nurse
to stay on staff when she can quit,
join the registry,
work part-time,
and make more money
than a full-time staff nurse.
Well, there's no seniority,
or compensating for
additional education.
There's no incentive
to stay at the hospital,
- or become a better nurse.
- That's right.
We... We need more
support personnel, a secretary,
- orderlies...
- Right, right...
Housekeeping, so we
can take care of the patients
instead of changing sheets.
Hey, if we're gonna do this,
we better start talking to the
other nurses.
If just the fourth
floor walks out,
this isn't gonna be a strike,
this is gonna be a resignation.
We can do that today.
- The sooner, the better.
- I'm sure some of...
If we want the other
nurses' support,
- there's one thing
we have to have first.
- What's that?
Lynne Buchanan.
She's the most respected
nurse in that hospital.
And if she says strike
we'll have everybody behind us.
Right.
And after what they did to
her, she'll jump at the chance
to get back at them.
I can't believe you're serious!
You bet we're serious.
And you can't believe
the support we're getting.
I mean, everybody we've talked to
has just jumped on the bandwagon.
Mackie...
Do you know how unpopular
a nurses' strike is gonna be?
Well, you're just gonna
killed by the press.
And I mean,
you'll be attacked by the
medical community, and what...
What about the other nurses?
You're gonna be
out there marching
for a cause that almost nobody
understands or has any sympathy for.
You know who's
really gonna suffer?
The patients.
Look, I know you've got
good cause, but I'm telling you,
there's gotta be some
other way to do it.
You know what's
the matter with you?
You've been so busy being
Florence Nightingale all your life
you never bothered to look
around and see what's going on.
Wait a minute, that's not fair.
Never mind that
the pay is rotten
and the work's exhausting
and the doctors treat
you like a floor mop...
- Do you think that I don't...
- I mean, it frosts me!
You. People like you
could make a difference.
You... You... You
could be an influence.
Because
you're loved.
You're respected.
People listen to you.
I know it's an ugly job
to strike a hospital.
Walk out on patients?
Some of them may
not get the right care.
Don't you see? Somebody
finally has to just stand up and say
"Hold it, we've had enough!"
Mackie...
Listen.
We've been through a
lot together, haven't we?
Pretty idealistic when we
started out, weren't we?
Something...
Something's happened to you.
I mean, you've really gotten
bitter. You're... You're...
You're so caught
up in the injustices
that you've suffered,
you've kinda lost track
of what's really important.
It's the patients.
That's what being a nurse
is all about. You just...
You forgot that
somewhere along the way.
Frankly, your opinion of me
doesn't interested me in the slightest.
What hurts
is that you're not
going to support us.
And you're not, are you?
No.
Because I don't think the
strike is the right thing to do.
And besides, I
have decided that...
I'm never going
back to nursing again.
Dr. Egan, please
call the operating...
Dr. Egan, please call...
You don't suppose his...
Hello, Dr. Asten...
Mrs. Asten.
Dr. Jacobs got tied up and
he asked me to look in on you.
How're you doing today?
I'm fine, Doctor.
But how are you doing with
all those nurses out on strike?
Well, it is a little
rough out there today.
We've only got one
registry nurse trying to cover
the entire floor with
a couple of aides.
I wanted to see more of
that nice nurse, Buchanan,
but I guess she's out there
with a sign on her shoulder.
No. No, as a matter
of fact, she isn't.
- She was suspended.
- Suspended?
You mean because
of the patient's death?
Yes.
And she was such
a devoted nurse.
I can't believe the
hospital would suspend her.
She was the kind
of compassionate,
caring person that
really should be a nurse.
Well, I'm expecting some
more staff in on the 3:00 shift
if you can hang on until then.
- All right, fine.
- Jim, thank God you're here.
I mean, this place is in a
chaos. The situation is desperate.
Now, I'm going to have
to transfer my patients.
V/ell, we'll have it under control
in a couple of hours, I'm sure.
If we get through today.
Yeah, what're you gonna do about
those nurses marching out there?
I say, fire them all.
Let them just hang out
there until they're starving
and come back
begging for their jobs.
Right now I'm simply trying to
get this hospital functioning again.
First things first.
Oh, listen, uh. Can you pitch in and
take some of those phone calls for me?
You want me to be a nurse?
Are you out of your mind?
- Dr. Asten...
- Oh, morning, Quincy.
Why the long face?
Something wrong with Louise?
Oh, no. Louise
is fine. It's, uh...
It's that nurse I
told you about.
- Lynne Buchanan.
- Yeah...
She was suspended
by the hospital.
It leaves a bad
taste in my mouth.
I suppose there's nothing
can be done about it...
Well, maybe there is. I started examining
the sections from the McCowan case.
I think there's something
you should see.
See what I mean?
Yeah.
Several of the small
pulmonary arteries are packed
with microscopic emboli.
Did you find this in the other sections
enough to have produced Cor pulmonale?
Oh, yeah. There are
blood clots blocking
enough of the arteries in his lungs
to have caused a sudden increase
of the pressure on the
right side of the heart.
Like choking off a hose,
and then having pressure
build behind the blockage.
But how on earth would
that have caused his death?
Let's take another
look at the body.
Let's see what further damage
was caused by the pressure.
- Who is it?
- It's me, Dr. Wicking.
Well, hi, there!
Come on in.
Thanks.
Don't tell me they're getting
so desperate for nurses
that you're coming to me?
Oh, I wish it were that easy,
Lynne. I'd have you back in a minute.
Well, sit down.
Oh, thanks.
Things pretty rough over there?
Oh!
Well, we're hanging in.
Today is better
than yesterday was.
Of course, naturally,
it's the patients
who are getting the
short end of the stick.
I got a feeling you didn't
come all the way over here
just to give me a progress
report on the nurses strike.
No, you're right.
I had a favor to ask.
What?
Do you remember Mrs. Shanley?
Oh, sure!
How's she doing?
Still trying to take her IV out?
Yeah. She's quite a handful.
You know,
she always reminds me of myself.
I think I would make an
absolutely terrible patient.
Well, she's, uh, scheduled
to go in for surgery tomorrow.
To resect that bleeding
ulcer in her stomach.
But she refuses to go.
I bet she's scared.
Yeah. Yeah, that's what I think.
Well, she says it's
because you're not there.
So, I was, uh...
Wondering if... If you might...
You know, sort
of... Pay her a visit.
I'm not sure that I could even
walk into that hospital again.
Do you know what that
suspension did to me?
It made me decide
to leave nursing.
Besides that, I mean,
there's a strike going on.
All my friends are over there
walking on the picket line.
I have to cross that line to
get into the hospital. I mean,
can you imagine what their
reaction would be to that?
Yeah, well, I.
I know how you feel.
And, uh...
Those are two real good
reasons for not going.
I guess there's just one argument
on the other side, and that's
the fact that she
was your patient.
She's a very sick lady,
who really needs you.
Nice try.
I just can't do it.
I'm not a nurse anymore.
The blood clots that formed in
his legs from the phlebitis
broke loose as emboli and
flowed through the right
side of the heart to the lung.
They were trapped in smaller
arteries, as we saw in the sections.
They definitely would have increased
the pressure in the right heart.
But there weren't enough arteries
plugged in the lungs to have killed him.
The emboli are too big to have
gotten through the lungs
into the rest of the circulation.
I agree. That's
why there has to be
something else
here that killed him.
Let's look at the heart.
Wait a minute.
Look at this little flap
between the left and right atria.
See if you can lift it up.
Moves like a trap door.
Hmm.
So if the pressure
increased in the right heart,
the flap would
open, and anything in
the right atrium, like blood
clots, could shoot across to
- the left side of the heart.
- That's absolutely right.
Let's check the carotid arteries,
the blood flow to the brain.
Here, take a look, Quincy.
Here's the reason McCowan died.
It wasn't because of the slow oozing of
blood because of too much anticoagulant.
It's because a blood clot
shot into the carotid arteries,
blocking the blood
flow to the brain.
He must have died
like someone shot him
in the head with a pistol.
Didn't you tell him we have
a whole list of grievances?
Of course I did.
He told me, in
essence, to buzz off.
They won't even listen to us.
I have a feeling our
grandchildren are gonna be
visiting us on this picket line.
- Oh, hey... Look who's here!
- I knew she
couldn't stay away.
Oh... Oh, are we
glad to see you!
Listen, I'm sorry. I'm, I'm...
I'm not here to join you.
Well, why are you here?
I'm going inside.
Dr. Wicking came to see me and
told me that Mrs.
Shanley really needs me.
What?
You really want to
rub it in, don't you?
You're too much of a
coward to be out here with us.
You're going to cross the lines
and go in there and help them out.
You're aiding and abetting
the enemy, Buchanan.
If that's what you call it...
That's what we call it!
You're a traitor!
You're a scab!
That's the worst scum of all!
Please try to understand. I...
I've just gotta do this.
I don't believe this.
I don't believe this...
Hello, Mrs. Shanley.
Oh, Lynne, how
nice of you to come.
- Brought you something.
- Oh...
Sonnets from the Portuguese.
I remembered that you like them.
I do.
Listen, I've got one special one
that I want to
read for you, okay?
"'I thought once how..."
- How do you say it?
- Theocritus.
"'...Theocritus
"had sung of the sweet years,
"the dear and wish'd, for years,
"Who each one in a gracious
hand appears to bear a gift
"for mortals
- "old..."
- "...old and young."
Oh, Lynne...
I'm so frightened.
I understand that.
No one has an operation
who isn't frightened.
I know.
You... You think I'm old
and have lived a long life.
Everybody wants to live
as long as they can.
Everybody's got that right.
There's still so much
to be done.
That's why you got
to have the operation.
Because it's going to
give you some more time.
Time!
More sunrises
sunsets.
Visits to your grandchildren.
How about all those other
trips you haven't taken, hmm?
Yosemite...
Ever been to Niagara Falls?
You can just reach
out and have all of that
with one...
Just
one simple decision.
But I'm afraid, because
you won't be here.
You'll be down striking,
and I'll have some
substitute nurse
who's untrained and...
I want you to
understand something.
Those registry nurses
that are helping up
there in the operating
room are just excellent.
Well, I mean, they've been
around a lot longer than I have.
But you're the only one I trust.
Then do trust me.
You're strong,
you love life, and you're
just going to come
through this fine.
I really care about
you, Mrs. Shanley.
Oh, Lynne...
But this...
This can't be my decision.
It's gotta be yours.
I know.
Dr. David, please
call the operator.
Dr. David, please
call the operator.
Lynne!
- You're a hard person to find.
- Oh... Hi, there!
I've been looking
all over for you.
You know, I finally asked
one of the people on the...
On the picket line. They
said that you were in here.
Yeah. Well, I'm on
my way home now.
Lynne, listen. You're clear.
You're absolutely clear of all
responsibility for McCowan's death.
What... What are
you talking about?
We reautopsied the body.
We found something that
we hadn't found before.
He didn't die because he
was over anticoagulated.
He died from a shower of emboli
that stopped the flow
of blood to the brain.
You mean, it was a blood clot.
We found an
abnormality in the heart.
A tiny flap, leading from
the right side to the left,
which usually closes at birth,
but didn't. See,
during the attack
pressure increased
on the right side.
Some of the clots shot
through the flap, over to the left,
up the carotid
arteries, plugging them
and stopping the flow
of blood to the brain.
It had nothing to do
with heparin at all.
No, nothing. Absolutely nothing.
Of course, Dr. Pierce,
he's still bellowing.
He says you
overstepped your bounds.
But Mr. Bruckner
understands completely.
He wants to reinstate you
the minute the strike is over.
You may not believe this, but,
uh... I don't want
to be reinstated.
Lynne, I don't want to intrude
on your personal life but,
you know, I think what you're
feeling now is justifiable anger
at the way you've been treated.
Sometimes it takes just a
good swift kick to wake you up.
I don't think I've got it
anymore, you know?
That real commitment
that it takes to be a nurse.
Well, I'm a doctor.
I certainly understand how we
have those feelings sometimes.
But see, if you've lost your commitment,
there's something I don't understand.
Why'd you cross the picket line?
Why did you come in here today?
To visit a friend?
Oh, it's Mrs. Shanley.
Oh, she's a terrific lady.
- Oh, she's a patient?
- Yeah.
Well, she used to be.
So, you risked all that
scorn and alienation
and abuse to visit someone
who used to be your patient.
Dr. Asten, she was
refusing surgery
which was absolutely necessary.
I just thought maybe she
might need a little reassurance.
And you gave it to her.
In other words, you
crossed the picket line
made up of all your friends...
People that you've worked
with every day of the week,
because you had
to show compassion
for a needful patient.
Lynne,
if that isn't commitment
would you please explain to me
what is?
Okay... Okay...
I guess we're all here,
so we might as well begin.
Uh, the reason I
called this meeting
is because I've become convinced
that we're not going
to solve anything
until we start
talking to each other.
Now, we have a lot of adament
people on both sides of the fence
and I don't think
anything is gonna happen
until we have honest
and direct communication.
So,
even if we don't
reach any conclusions
I think we should try to
get our grievances
out in the open
and deal with them like
mature adults.
Now, the alternative
is to go on in chaos, confusion,
and the real victims
are gonna continue to be
the patients who've entrusted
themselves to our care.
Why don't you cut out
all the rhetorical baloney
and just ask them how
much more they want?
Yeah, we want more money.
But... But it goes far beyond
the money, Dr. Pierce.
We want more involvement,
more responsibility.
Otherwise, how can
you expect anyone with
brains and ambition
to want to stay?
Oh, brains I don't mind. It's
the ambition that scares me.
Now, you take Ms. Buchanan.
She has ambitions,
and it causes her to
go around the hospital
making decisions
that could kill a patient.
Dr. Pierce,
she made one decision one time.
But that one was
quite enough, wasn't it?
Or didn't you suspend her.
I suspended her because
I erroneously thought
that Mr. McCowan had
died from too much heparin.
To my shame,
I took that action,
even though at the time I
felt that your failure to include
the information on
McCowan's chart
made you equally responsible.
What transpires between
me and my patients
is strictly my business.
Excuse me, Mr. Bruckner.
Could I say something?
Yes. Yes, of course,
That's why we're here.
Thank you.
I really wasn't planning
to speak today. I, uh...
As you know,
I have not been a
part of this strike.
I felt that I really didn't have the
right to participate in any discussion.
I was just...
So devastated...
By what I thought was my
involvement in Mr. McCowan's death,
that I guess I just
ran away and hid,
you know, mentally,
behind a lot of childish
anger and self-deception.
Well, now I really do
want to say something.
Because I want to
make it absolutely clear
that the central issue in
this strike is not just money.
What we want is more involvement
in our patients and their care.
We want to be nurses,
and we want you
to respect us for that.
We've lived
too long
with too much abuse
from too many of you.
Gentlemen, I want you to know
the world is changing,
and we are changing with it.
And if you don't change, if you
don't become a part of that progress
I can promise you one thing.
That the nursing situation is
just gonna get worse. Right?
I hear a lot of
emotion coming out,
but I wish you'd
be more specific.
You say you want more
involvement with your patients
but what exactly does that mean?
Well, I...
I mean, I haven't had a chance,
you know, to discuss this with
any of the nurses here, but...
I think they would all
agree that the one thing
that would really please us is
a Joint Practices Program.
She's absolutely right.
That's the first...
That's the most
important demand
we put on the list.
Joint Practices, huh?
Pretty soon the inmates
will be running the institution.
Dr. Pierce, why don't
you just for once...
Why don't... Why don't
you just shut up and listen?
Uh...
I'm sorry.
Please, uh, go on and tell us more
about the Joint Practices Program.
Well, uh... Uh,
actually, it's very simple.
It's a system in which
the doctors and nurses
share in the responsibility
of the planning
and executing of patient care.
We become a team.
Work together for the
benefit of everybody involved.
Now, hasn't this, uh, been
tried somewhere else before?
Yeah. With great success.
Look, gentlemen,
we really don't want to
rob you of your authority.
All we want to do is to raise
our profession
to a level of excellence
that truly benefits
the patients and the hospital.
Please, just...
Just let us be what we are.
Let the word nurse
mean what it should
and... And let the
profession of nursing
become a lifelong pursuit,
to which we can truly
dedicate our energies
and our emotion and...
Our soul.
Code Blue, CCU. Code Blue, CCU.
Hey, where you been?
I've been looking for you.
I'm sorry. I was
sitting with Mr. Milligan.
Sitting...
With Mr. Milligan?
Well, you know how it is. He...
He's never been in a
hospital before in his whole life.
And he's one of these men, you
know, who's used to being in control...
So there he is, and
he's very nervous.
Mmm, so you sat with him?
Yeah, I did.
Turns out he's an
old Detroit Tigers fan.
So we got in a big argument about whether
Harvey Kuenn ever really helped the team.
So what's wrong with that?
Oh, nothing. No. No.
As a matter of fact, it seems
to me that you are enjoying
your work more than
you have in years.
I am.
I know the Joint Practices thing
is just on a trial basis, but
it seems to me it's working.
Well, you know that Dr. Wicking
actually asked my opinion about
a patient's condition this morning?
Be still, my heart.
Wicking's one thing.
When Pierce does it
then we know
we've really made it.
- Hi!
- Well, how are you doing?
I feel wonderful.
My stitches came out
and I'm healing beautifully.
You look terrific. Of
course, she's not ready to
run a marathon yet, but she's
doing pretty well for a recent post-op.
We just wanted to thank you
again for all your kindness.
- Well...
- We'll see you.
- Bye-bye.
- Bye.
Take it easy.