St. Elsewhere (1982) s01e19 Episode Script

1
Tonight on St. elsewhere.
- We got a full arrest here.
- Call a code, somebody.
- We're flattered you've come from Hungary to visit us.
- Very proud to meet you.
- Dr. Craig hasn't yelled at us yet.
- Who says I yell?
Smooth, wasn't she? Very smooth.
Dr. Chandler.
I want to thank you for trying.
- Stan, it's the wrong plan.
- I need money. In fact, I'm worth more dead than alive.
Now, I can't help your husband
if I don't know what's going on!
Life has dealt us both a bad card,
but you have many more left in the deck.
And it's only a fool who wouldn't play out his hand.
You give your patients the wrong antibiotics.
You don't know what medications they're on.
You write the worst progress notes. You're pathetic!
[Pager beeping]
Damn it, let go of my hand. Let go of my hand!
This is the last time I volunteer for E.R. duty.
No, Wendy. This is fun.
- Get off of me!
- Careful!
Normally, I wouldn't do this, but if you twist my arm,
I'll let you stay here and take care of him.
It's all right by me. Some foreign
surgeon is supposed to be visiting,
and I know that Craig is gonna
be dosing out the discipline.
Let go of my hands! Let go of my hands!
Why don't you bring him here? This
is the perfect place to observe
The sensitive care that has made American
medicine famous throughout the world.
Okay. Hold him. Hold him.
What's this guy been drinkin' anyway?
Lafite rothschild? It's hard for me to tell
once they vomit. It spoils the bouquet.
[Man groaning] Okay. Just a second. Here we go.
Swallow it. Swallow it. It's in.
Okay. Okay. Okay. Swallow. Swallow.
Okay. Let me get it down. Feels like we're hung up here.
Wait a second. He's got my hair.
Somebody get him. He's really got my hair!
Put 'em down!
Spoiled my coif. How 'bout some tape?
Where's the tape? Hold him right there.
- Go get it. Go get it.
- And we got the tape.
Now. Okay. Hit it.
Syringe. Syringe.
Here.
[Ehrlich] There's some of that.
- Okay.
- [Man gagging]
We're in. We're fine. [Sighs]
[Woman on P.A.] Nurse Roberts to
pediatrics. Nurse Roberts to pediatrics.
Stan, what happened?
[Sighs] I don't know. I guess my liver's actin' up again.
I can see that. What happened to your appointment?
Uh, you were supposed to come in and
visit me at the outpatient clinic, right?
Yeah, well, you know, I-I never been sick a day in my life,
and when, uh when this hepatitis hit me, I
I guess I'm just not used to goin' to see the doctor.
I know. I understand. Nobody likes goin' to the doctor.
But when something's wrong, you have
to come in so we can take care of you.
[Sighs] All right. So, here I am.
Well, Stan, you should have been here three months ago.
When did you start turning yellow this time?
At least a week. About three or four days ago
What are you talkin' about? She don't know.
All right.
[Inhales] Look, I-I don't want
you to get the wrong idea, see.
I been takin' care of myself. I been
payin' attention. It's just that, uh
Well, I got laid off, and, uh, I lost my coverage.
Nothin' personal against you. It's
just No, I don't take it personally.
I just wanna give you the best care I
can, so that you get better. That's all.
And to do that, I need your cooperation.
- Well, you got it.
- Well, good.
I'll be back. I'll be here.
I'm very glad that your hotel is comfortable.
Oh, it's, uh, really more than comfortable.
It is, um, fancy.
You know there's a Hungarian
restaurant just across the street?
[Scoffs] Come on. I didn't come to
america to eat Hungarian food.
I, uh, paid a taxi and I went to, uh, golden arches.
You're kidding. Why not? You eat goulash, don't you?
My hamburger [sighs] It was something fantastic.
[Knocking] Mark.
Oh, you're here already. I'm here.
Dr. Vera Anya, Dr. Mark Craig. How do you do?
I'm very good. Uh, very proud to meet you.
Well, we're flattered you've come
all the way from Hungary to visit us.
- Was I late?
- Well, perhaps I was early.
We've, uh, been discussing your favorite
subject, Mark: International cuisine.
Oh, really?
And Dr. Anya, uh, was telling me how much
she appreciated the American hamburger.
Oh, among other things.
Well, that's uh That's very nice.
Well, I thought maybe you could, uh, show Dr. Anya around,
and then, uh, maybe we can meet later for lunch.
Absolutely. Whatever the doctor would like.
That would be fine. All right. Let's go then.
Hamburgers? Must be brutal over there.
[Woman on P.A.] Dr. McMahon to maternity. Dr. McMahon
Who's next? Cubicle 3.
Okay. Here's runneger's blood gas.
Okay. I already took a look at it. Do we have a bed? 427.
Okay, I'll just go talk to the
family. They're in the waiting room?
Wife and son.
Is the runneger family here? I'm Mrs. Runneger.
Yo, doctor. Doctor.
Um, I'm Dr. Chandler. I examined your husband.
He does appear to have a blood clot in his leg,
but we're gonna send him upstairs,
give him some blood-thinning medicines.
Hopefully, that'll prevent any
more clots from forming. I see. I see.
Let me ask you, has Mr. Runneger seemed, um,
more confused lately or
Well, perhaps a little.
But he's been slowly getting more
and more confused, so it's hard to tell.
And when did they find the prostate cancer?
Oh, was it six or eight years ago?
Uh, it was when they did the surgery.
My son's parking the car. H-He would know better.
Well, that's not important just this second. Um
Your husband's gonna be going up
to room 427. It's on the fourth floor.
Thank you, doctor. I'm gonna wait for my son.
Okay. Thank you. Thank you.
Say, excuse me. Are you a doctor?
Looks like he brought his own personal pharmacy. Hmm.
[Pager beeping]
[Beeping]
[Pager clattering]
Something happen? Yeah, somethin' happened.
This thing with Myra and Tim potts is eatin' me up, man.
She doesn't even answer her phone anymore.
I keep thinkin' she's with him all the time. This is bad.
Well, I wish I knew what to tell you.
That she's my wife, she's out with somebody else.
What would you do if Nina went
out with somebody else? Oh, come on.
No, that's the score, isn't it? My
wife's out with somebody else, period.
Well, what do you expect? I mean, she's probably lonely.
She's got two small kids to take care
of. She's tryin' to go to grad school.
She's takin' care of an apartment, and
her husband is living with somebody else.
Do me a favor. I want you to find out
from Nina what's goin' on with her and Tim.
[Scoffs] Why don't you ask her?
Because she won't tell me what she'll tell you.
I wanna know exactly what's goin' on.
I wanna know what's goin' on. I
wanna know everything that's goin' on!
Just listen to yourself.
You're asking me to manipulate
my wife. I mean, that's ridiculous.
Fine.
Peter, you're acting childish.
I don't need you to tell me what I'm doin'.
Peter
[Woman on P.A.] Dr. Kady, emergency room 1214.
Peter!
Dr. Kady, emergency room 1214. [Exhales]
Morning, scottie.
You and fiscus ever get to see the real aunt sirca?
Nope. Next Sunday.
There we go.
Mr. Runneger, we're gonna take you up to room 427.
Mr. Runneger?
Mr. Runneger?
Oh, hell. He's not breathin'.
No, wait. Don't do that. Uh, push the next floor.
One and two and three and four and five. [Chandler blows]
One and two and three and four and
five. One and two and three and four
Okay. Come on. Let's get him out of here.
Clear out of the way, please.
All right? We got a full arrest.
[Daniels] Call a code, somebody!
Let's get him on the floor. Right here.
Come on. Take it easy. Nice and
easy. Get the feet there, please!
Very light, all right?
Let's go. Come on. [Blows]
One and two and three and four and five.
Come on. Can we get a crash cart, damn it!
One and two and three and four and five.
One and two and three okay,
I want an amp of ep, of bicarb,
uh, an E.T. tube and a curved blade.
Let's go. Hold it still. Hold it
still. One and two and three
Still, still. Hold it still.
Okay, give me the paddles. Come on.
Come on, please. Roll that back
for me please, Shirley. Okay. Clear.
[Groans] Clear.
He's flat lined.
[Steady beep]
Is that it? One second.
'Scuse me, girls.
Voilà. How do you expect me to carry all this?
Oh, I'm sure one of your colleagues would help you.
I'm sure one of them would. Oh, come
on. You're both big, strong, healthy girls.
Here, come on. Give a guy a hand.
Lucky for me, Mr. Halper needs his enema. I'm out of here.
You're lucky I respect older women.
Okay, you caught me at a weak
moment. Where do you want them?
Uh, what do you think? By the piano?
Whose are these, anyway?
They're all runneger's. I just
thought I'd do a discharge summary.
What do you need all these old
charts for? He was barely admitted.
I just thought I'd flip through 'em.
I wouldn't even look through old charts for
stuff like that. Well, gotta write something.
I'll tell you what to write:
"Reason for admission, patient dying.
"Hospital course, patient died.
Follow-up plans, relatives to visit graveside
at regular intervals, flowers p.R.N."
"Final diagnosis, t.R.O." What's that stand for?
Um, "time ran out."
"T.r.o." I don't, uh I don't think that
was a diagnosis when I was a resident.
Uh, 'scuse me. I gotta check on a patient.
So, what happened with Mr. Runneger?
I'm not sure. Excuse me.
You must have done something to him, Phillip.
Uh, it's obvious. He was in perfect
health when he checked in this morning.
I'm really sorry. It's all right.
I don't know. He had a blood clot in
his calf. Maybe he threw an embolus.
He was fine in E.R. as soon as we
put him in the elevator, he coded.
Did he complain of any pain or shortness of breath?
Nothing. Evidently he'd been going
downhill mentally for some time.
- Has someone told his family?
- Yes, nurse Rosenthal.
Oh, uh, Dr. Lepsinger's the family physician.
I just thought I'd wait to reach him before
filling them in on the final details.
- Okay. Well, I'll talk to them.
- Oh, you mind if I come?
No, not at all. I'll page you.
Uh, think an autopsy would be helpful?
Well, it would be nice. I mean, he
had enough things wrong with him.
Besides, I'd like to see if I missed something unusual.
Like a little "t.R.O." Tattooed on his heart, maybe?
I'll see you later.
[Sighs]
Excuse me. Dr. Auschlander? Can I ask you a quick question?
You can ask me a long one if you like.
I've got a, uh I've got a patient, Stan morgen.
He's a 38-year-old white male, no
serious illnesses except for hepatitis "b,"
which he had about six months ago.
We saw him once as an outpatient
and his liver enzymes were improving.
Did you schedule a follow-up to
see if he still had antigen positive?
Yeah, but he didn't show up. Now
he's back with terrific jaundice.
What do you think he has?
Well, his labs are still pending,
but I don't think it's his gallbladder.
Least not by my exam.
What I'm wondering is whether
he's got chronic active hepatitis
And whether we should give him some steroids or
Don't be in such a hurry. Is he a drinker?
I don't think so. You know what I mean by a drinker?
Yeah, someone who abuses alcohol.
Someone who drinks more than I do.
Well, he's actually a pretty straight guy, you know.
He worked nights to support his family.
Well, he could have chronic active hepatitis.
But I wouldn't put him on steroids
until I had a piece of tissue to look at,
and I'd wait for his labs to come back
Before I'd go rushing into his
room with a big biopsy needle.
That's what I wanted to know.
Thanks a lot. Any time.
How old did you say this fellow was? Thirty-eight.
Shame. Shame.
So you began your work on valve
replacements before you got to Budapest.
Oh, yes. In debrecen. The hospital is very good. Oh.
But now I'm chief of cardiac
surgery, so I must go to Budapest.
Uh-huh. Then in four years, there is a new chief
So, uh, I can go back.
It must be terrible living in a police
state, where they dictate your every move.
Oh, it's not so bad. You know, when you're, uh, chief,
you can take a trip like this, you can do research.
Even so. Are you still interested in research?
Interested, of course, but I'm busy here.
I still maintain an affiliation with the lab
at medical school, but I don't have any time.
Oh, that's too bad. I very much enjoyed
your work on congenital heart disease.
My god. Did you read that?
Yes, of course. It was, uh,
suggested reading during my training.
[Chuckles] No kidding?
You must have been very young
when you did that publication, yes?
Well, not that young. I'd just finished my residency. Oh.
Then you age very well. Thank you. I try to stay in shape.
Cardiology. Here. Allow me.
[Woman on P.A.] Dr. Diane Yale, 6313.
Dr. Diane Yale, 6313.
I, uh I wanna find out how
things have been going at home
Since the last time you were here.
Not real good.
Stan losing his night janitor job at the high school
Came on real sudden, and it's been kind of tough.
Has he been drinking?
No. Not as far as I know.
He never was Much for drinking.
Any chance he's been using drugs?
Oh, no. That's not him at all.
I've never even seen him smoke
a cigarette. No, I didn't think so.
His liver's real bad, isn't it?
Well, I'm not sure yet. It could be.
Well, you know,
it says in here that if you put Clay on your skin,
it helps to soak up the poisons from the body,
which makes it easier on the liver.
[Chuckles] I guess that's all a bunch of junk.
Well, unless they know more than we do. Oh, no.
No, I know you're all real good doctors here.
And, uh, whatever you say is good enough for me.
I'm just really glad that Stan's here now.
And I really appreciate everything you're doin' for him.
We'll do the best we can. Thank you.
You can buy a car, but it's extremely expensive.
But if you do the right things,
the government will give you a car.
Like, um uh, when you finish what
you call here the residency, yes?
They give you a car. A small
car, not like a Mercedes, okay?
Amazing. Isn't it?
At least runneger was nice
enough to code early in the morning.
I mean, I always get the ones who
wait until I've done all their paperwork
Or until the cafeteria is closed.
No consideration. That's right. None whatsoever.
[Woman on P.A.] Dr. Peter white, call the page operator.
Dr. Peter white, call the page operator.
They're paging you.
[Beeping] Oh. You're right.
Hey, uh, listen. I'm on call tonight,
but, uh, tomorrow why don't you code
in a few more patients on my service.
Then I get half a day off. Dr. Peter
white, call the page operator.
Dr. Peter white Maybe you oughta answer that.
Maybe I oughta.
[Scoffs] That guy.
Uh, don't be so sensitive, Phil. You
knew runneger was goin' home in a box.
I don't know.
Till this morning, I only had three
codes that didn't make it this year.
Phil, I mean, with old charts this thick,
the guy had to have one foot in before he got here.
[Softly] I guess you're right.
[Normal voice] Just seems strange though, in an elevator.
Take it from me. Anything can
happen in an elevator. Anything.
What are you, bragging? Nope. Just quoting a study I did.
You see, in the united states, doctors are very, uh
You know, um big, important.
In Hungary, doctors are not so important.
[Mouthing words] Scientists, oh, they are important.
So my husband, who was a chemical engineer, he got a car.
Uh, he was only 23, very young.
That is very impressive. You
know, to have a car when you're 23,
you are like a, um A big shot, you know?
Is that why you went out with him? Oh, well, of course.
You cannot go anywhere without a car.
[Chuckles] So you're still driving the same car?
Oh, no, no.
But they do insist that you drive the car until, um,
it falls apart.
Same with our residents. And that's
because they can't afford to buy a new one.
That's right. In america, you work for everything you get.
You're very tough.
Dr. Craig's philosophy is this:
The only problem with being on call every other night
Is that you miss half the interesting cases.
[Laughs]
Well, then I'm going to be afraid
in the operating room today.
Surgeons in training don't need to be pampered.
They need food and laundry.
[Chuckling, laughing]
[Woman on P.A.] Dr. Jameson, 113.
Dr. Jameson, 113. [Elevator bell dings]
Hey, what's a nice girl like
you doin' in a place like this?
Hi there. [Kisses]
Where you goin'? Up to payroll.
They messed up my hours again.
Wish I got paid by the hour.
I got an operator out there, must be high on
amphetamines the way she's been beepin' me.
Then I gotta go see this guy on the floor,
and when I get back, I got two
new admits waitin' for me in E.R.
Gonna be a fun night tonight, I can
tell ya. I wish I could do somethin'.
Why don't you come on with me when I go see
this guy? Well, Peter, I gotta go down
Come on, come on, come on. Now at
least we can talk a little bit here.
Who do you have to go see? Guy down in 3325.
What's wrong with him? He's
dead. I just gotta pronounce him.
All right. Who's dead?
He is.
[Roberts] Excuse me.
[Siren wailing in distance]
Peter. You really shouldn't talk to patients like that.
You're right. I shouldn't. [Chuckles]
Why don't you do me a little favor?
On your way to payroll, I want
you to stop by the pharmacy
And get this filled for me.
Uh, it's got my name on it. It's just valium.
I'm under a lot of stress lately.
If anybody should understand that, should be you.
I don't know about this. I do. I'm the doctor. Come on.
[Woman on P.A.] Maintenance to E.R. maintenance to E.R.
Hello. Dr. Westphall, director of medicine.
Mrs. Runneger, doctor. How do you do?
Albert runneger. Sir.
You've already met Dr. Chandler, I
believe? Oh. How do you do, doctor?
Were you the one on the elevator? That's right.
Isn't that something? He never even got to his room.
[Exhales] He always was an impatient man.
Well, you know he was very sick. Oh, yes.
This last year was just terrible for him.
You know what? With the cancer and the
emphysema and the radiation treatment
[Sighs] I don't blame him one bit.
What happened in the elevator?
Well, um nothing unusual.
He just became unresponsive.
He had, uh, what we refer to as a complete arrest.
In other words, both his heart
and lungs stopped functioning.
Oh, I see. Is that very painful?
No, uh, what happens is that the blood
supply to the brain is suddenly cut off.
There's really no feeling at all. Oh, I'm glad of that.
He's had his share of pain.
What causes something like that?
[Westphall] Well, there are many causes, uh
He had a blood clot in his leg,
and sometimes they can, uh
They can break off and travel through the body, but
In a patient with as many problems as
Mr. Runneger had, it-it's very difficult to tell.
And that's why I think it's, uh, very important
for the doctors and the other patients
If we can, uh, have your permission to perform an autopsy.
Well
[Westphall] Uh, Mrs. runneger, tell you the truth,
I think you'd feel a lot better
knowing exactly why your husband died.
Should we talk to Marie? Yes.
Uh, I have a sister we've been trying
to reach in Providence, and, uh
I'd like to talk to her first. Certainly.
I'll be in my office all day. Uh, you
can call me when you decide. All right?
Okay. And thank you very much.
Thank you, doctor.
I only wish we could do more. Thank you.
And you, Dr. Chandler.
I want to thank you for trying. [Cries]
It's all right. [Sobbing]
Coronary conference is this way. I
know. I know. I know. Save me a seat.
What can I do for you, sugar? I
need some results. Morgen, Stan?
You got a number? Mmm, 234575.
So, how's life been treatin' you? Ah, not bad.
No complaints. Just a little hungry.
Well, have some. It's no good. No, I'll wait.
[Chuckles] I'll get something when I get home.
Yeah, I bet you will. Delores.
Okay. Now what do you want to see?
Uh, what do I need? Pro-time,
uh, p.T.T. And a platelet count.
Nope. Still pending. The last I
got on here is blood alcohol.
What? Blood alcohol? You sure you
got the right patient? It's m-o-r-9-e-n.
Yeah, that's it. Stanley m-o-r-9-e-n.
They drew it last night in E.R.
Well, you want it? Mmm.
Huh. Looks like Mr. Morgen was partyin', huh? Yup.
Yeah, I guess so.
Thanks. Don't mention it.
♪[Classical] [Beeping]
Clamp.
Metz to Dr. Ehrlich.
Now spread here. Mm-hmm.
And cut.
♪[Continues] Good. Very good.
[Slurping]
Saw.
[Whirring]
♪[Continues]
How's the ventilation?
Uh, there's no evidence of an air leak.
Okay. Now hold this.
You know, Dr. Craig said something very funny today.
He said, um, "the problem with
being on call every other night
Is that, um, you miss half the interesting cases."
You wanna cut here, please?
You look tired, Dr. Ehrlich.
Were you here with the interesting cases last night?
[Chuckles] Yes, sir. Uh, ma'am. Uh, doctor.
Well, I'm tired too.
But we must be good surgeons even when we're tired,
because Dr. Craig hasn't yelled at us yet.
I don't yell. Who says I yell?
I instruct.
[Laughs]
Are you absolutely sure that
your husband has not been drinking?
Wh-what do you mean?
The blood they drew shows that when he came
into the emergency room, he was legally drunk.
Now, I can't help your husband
if I don't know what's going on!
[Tearfully] Well, I tried to stop him!
But I I can't. I I can't.
He he doesn't even look for
work anymore. He just drinks.
I see, he's hoping that his liver and all will
Will kill him and then we'll get the
insurance money, but I don't want it.
I real I don't want it.
H-He only came in because a friend told him that
If he didn't see a doctor then we
couldn't get the insurance money.
[Crying] Oh, god. Okay, okay. Okay, okay.
W just just take it easy.
Please. Please don't say anything.
I don't want him to get in trouble. Please.
Don't worry. He won't get in trouble.
I just want him to get better.
I know you do. Okay? I know you do.
Please. D
I'll come back and I'll talk to him later, okay?
[Sniffling] Yeah. Okay.
Hey! Hello! What's his first name?
Uh, Edward. Edward!
Ed! Here's the pericardial tray.
Did you get the consent? Yeah, yeah. Ed!
Ed, you have some blood compressing your heart.
I'm gonna put a needle in and drain it out, okay? Uh
I'll take that as a "yeah."
[Woman on P.A.] Dr. Lieberman, call O.R.
So where's my doctor? He's coming.
Darling, you told me that 20 minutes ago.
I beeped him. That's all I can do. There.
Who are you? I'll be right back.
I'm not exactly in the mood for
another patient right now. I'm beat.
What do you got? Huh?
Hey, look. Just because you made a
mistake with a patient this morning,
don't be carrying that around like
that's the last mistake you're gonna make.
You don't know anything about the case, all right?
You don't know anything about anything,
so why don't you just shut the hell up?
Why don't you take it easy? No,
you take it easy. You take it easy!
You're in no position to make remarks about
anything here because you don't know anything!
- Dr. Chandler.
- You give your patients the wrong antibiotics.
You don't know what medications they're
on. You write the worst progress notes.
- You're pathetic! Pathetic!
- Phil!
- What?
- Dr. Mauri needs you right away.
I'm sorry. Whoa.
[Clipboard hits floor] Let me tell you something.
If it wasn't for some of the residents
around here covering for your mistakes,
you would have been gone months ago, so just shut up!
Are you my doctor? Yeah, I'm your doctor.
[Woman on P.A.] Visiting hours are
over. Visiting hours are now over.
[Morrison] Well, I'm angry with you for lying to me,
but I still wanna help. Big deal.
- It is a big deal. You could die.
- Well, that was the plan.
Stan, it's the wrong plan.
It's not fair to you, and it's not fair to your family.
[Sighs] What the hell do you know about "unfair"?
I spent seven and a half years in that damn
high school moppin' floors, wipin' toilets
So some fat-cat politician can come by and phase it out
So he can put more taxpayers' money in his pocket?
That's what I'd call unfair.
All right. It sounds like you got a raw deal,
and there's nothing I can do about that
You're damn right, so don't come in
here with some stupid doctor's speech.
'Cause I'm not a baby. I don't need pep talks.
I need money. In fact, I'm worth more dead than I am alive.
No, the fact is the insurance
companies won't pay if you commit suicide,
and that's what you're doing by drinking.
If your family's hurting now, what do you
think it's gonna be like for them without you?
Kaye would clean floors and toilets for a hundred years
If she thought it would help you get better.
Are you through, doctor?
Yeah. Yeah, I'm through.
Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know you were still here.
Uh, we just came to say good-bye real quick.
It's okay. I'm finished. Go say good night to daddy.
He's very stubborn. I know.
I'll talk to him some more tomorrow.
So, ehrlich. What do you think?
Sir? Smooth, wasn't she?
Very smooth. And efficient.
My god, that was one of the quickest
mitral valve replacements I have ever seen.
Especially considering how corroded the valve was.
So, what do you think?
Oh, yeah. It was corroded, all right.
No, no. The tie, ehrlich. Is it straight?
This place is lit like a
dungeon. Yes, it's it's straight.
Good. Never trust a surgeon with a crooked tie.
Oh, well. You dress almost as quickly as you operate.
You know, I-If I may say so,
that was an excellent procedure today.
Just excellent. Thank you. Thank you.
Very impressive.
Well, it's good to have a compliment
from such a great surgeon.
I'm just afraid that, uh, we won't
have very much to teach you here.
Actually, I'm a little disappointed. You know, um
At first I thought perhaps we could do an
annuloplasty instead of replacing the valve.
But there was so much destruction.
Oh, absolutely. The only way to go.
Uh, c-can I buy you a drink?
A drink? Only one?
[Both laughing] Well, whatever.
Of course. I cannot refuse the chief of surgery, can I?
Well, that's That's good to hear.
Dr. Auschlander, have you by any
chance seen Dr. Meyer or Dr. Rowe?
No, I haven't. I've got to find
somebody to take call for me tonight.
Don't look at me. Even though it's
been 42 years since I've had to do it,
I still don't have nostalgia for being a resident on call.
Me either.
Dr. Morrison. Mmm.
What'd you decide to do about that morgen fellow?
Would you believe it? He's been boozing it up.
Oh. That might explain things.
In fact, he tried to kill himself with it
so his family could get the life insurance.
Oh. Oh, my. Yeah. He got laid off a few months ago,
decided to drink himself to death, put an end to it.
You suppose his outlook would change
If we stuck that biopsy needle
someplace other than his liver?
Uh, I don't think so. He's a pretty stubborn guy.
I assume you've tried talking to him.
Yeah, I don't think he's feelin'
too hot about doctors right now.
Perhaps that's due to your nice, youthful head of hair.
You know, by the time I was your age,
my hairline had a certain, shall
we say, distinctiveness to it,
which I never hesitated to use in manipulating patients.
Mm-hmm. Well, I think I'm gonna have to
do without that particular attribute.
You never know. Good night.
Hey. What's up?
[Woman on P.A.] Nurse Hernandez to nurses' station 2e.
Nurse Hernandez to nurses' station 2e.
[Knocking]
You wanted to see me? Yeah. Come on in, Phil.
This is Sam Hendricks. He works, uh, for
the law firm that represents St. eligius.
Dr. Chandler. How do you do?
Yes. Nice to meet you, Dr. Chandler. My pleasure.
Sit down, Phil.
Reason I called you in is we, uh we
have a problem with the runneger family.
I got a message this afternoon that they,
uh, brought in an outside pathologist.
They want the body transferred for examination,
and I, uh, tried to contact them
to find out what the problem was.
I finally reached the son, and he told me that, uh,
their family attorney had
advised them to pursue legal action.
What? They're filing charges
Against the hospital and the doctors involved.
Anyway, Sam felt that the three of us should meet.
Yes. Now what I want you to do
is write down everything you did
From the moment you first met
Mr. Runneger until he expired.
And, uh, don't duplicate what's on
the chart. We have a copy of that.
Now, what I'm talking about, for example, is this:
Something you noticed about the
patient but, uh, didn't write down.
Uh, anything unusual that might have been
going on around you when you examined him.
Uh, something you might have said to
another physician or, uh or the family.
That kind of thing, you know.
How specific do you want me to be?
As specific as possible. If you
remember the time you said something,
or somebody was, uh somebody was wearing
something unusual, just write it down.
Put it all in there. All right? We have any questions?
- No.
- Okay.
Now I know this may be frightening to you, but, uh
Well, there's no need to be frightened,
at least not till I tell you to be.
It may sound strange, but, uh,
actually I think you're lucky in a way,
because you're gonna have an experience
that every doctor in training ought to have.
Because the way things are today, sooner or later,
whether they whether they like it or not,
every doctor's gonna go through this.
You know, in the good old days,
when medicine was a gentlemanly
profession, people didn't sue their doctor.
Nowadays, they're awarding all these huge judgments.
- The, uh the legal climate is
- Fertile.
There's a word for you.
So, no matter what happens with this whole thing,
you just pay attention, 'cause
you won't find it in any book.
I'll be in touch.
Oh, here. Let me get that for you.
Oh, thank you.
Dr. Chandler, let my office know when you'll be available.
Next time, you do all the talking.
[Westphall] Thank you, Sam.
He's something, isn't he?
Yeah, I'll say, um what happened to his legs?
I don't really know. I think it was
a car accident when he was young.
But believe me, I've seen him in
court. He needs nobody's sympathy.
Yeah, well, I'm glad he's on our side.
You know, the family seemed so
reasonable when we talked to them.
Yeah, I thought so too. But I guess
when people are about to sue you,
they don't telegraph their punches, right?
Yeah, but they knew he was sick.
Yeah, they knew it after he died.
But I think you'd be surprised, Phil.
Sometimes the people who are closest to a situation
Have the least amount of insight into it.
Especially when it means they're gonna have
to recognize something they don't wanna see.
I don't I never expected anything like this.
I don't think we ever do.
♪[Piano]
Excusez-moi, doctor. Will there be anything else?
[Indistinct]
Coffee? No, please.
More wine? No. [Laughs]
Uh, no, thanks. [Speaking French] [French]
You sure you don't want more? Mmm. No, really.
Really. I'm going to get drunk.
That's not very good for a visiting surgeon.
Listen, I know a surgeon who did
his best work when he was drunk.
Oh? That's the truth.
Ed tinsdale, one of my father's contemporaries,
could do the most beautiful
gallbladder completely inebriated.
I'll never forget it. It was one Sunday.
My father and I had just come back from
fishing. I was home from medical school.
And the hospital called to notify him of an emergency.
And at that, my dad cut himself with the fishing knife.
Careful of your hand. Oh, yes.
Anyway, h-he said, "well, let's call Dr. Tinsdale."
So I went to see the surgery,
and when tinsdale walked into the
operating room, he smelled like a brewery.
[Laughing] I mean, there was no
doubt about it. He was drunk.
And he proceeded to do the cleanest
cholecystectomy that I have ever seen.
Oh. And afterwards, the anesthesiologist said
That this is the first case he's ever had
Where the surgeon was more anesthetized than the patient.
[French] Yeah. You know, funny thing about ed tinsdale.
He went downhill after that. Okay. Thank you.
Thank you. Oh, listen.
That was very nice of you. My pleasure. Really.
[Muttering]
[Chuckles] Uh oh, what the hell.
Listen, do you mind if we stop by
at the hospital before we get back?
I have some notes that I wanna check
for tomorrow morning's conference.
No, no. Of course not.
Well, perhaps we're drunk enough
to remove someone's gallbladder.
All right. Why not? [Laughs] Good night.
Mr. Morgen? Yeah?
I'm Dr. Auschlander. I'm a liver specialist. That so?
I was talking to Dr. Morrison earlier today.
Told me about all the drinking you've been doing.
I don't need another doctor comin' in here
and tellin' me what to do with my life.
I got a family I can't feed. So don't come
in here with your fancy suit and your tie
And tell me how I'm supposed to feel.
Let me tell you something.
Underneath this fancy suit
and tie and shirt, there's a tube.
One end of it is stuck in my liver,
where a cancer is eating its way through my body.
Now, the medicine I get through this tube
Has less than one chance in five of helping me live longer.
Makes me sick, nauseous and
susceptible to infection, but I take it,
and I'd take it if it was only one chance in a thousand,
because that's how precious life is.
Now, next year, if I'm still around,
I will have been married 46 years.
And it's absolutely true. It does get better all the time.
And I've had the chance to watch my children
grow into people that I not only love,
but also admire.
And that's a feeling you just can't put a price on.
Now, I know I'm gonna die soon, and there
isn't anything anyone can do about it.
But I'd give everything I own
If I could have just one more day, one more minute
To enjoy everything my family has meant to me.
And that's why I know
That what you're doing to yourself is absolutely wrong.
[Sobbing]
Yeah, it's easy for you to say.
[Sighs] But I bet if you died 20 years ago,
you'd have still lived a better life than I ever will.
Life has dealt us both a bad card.
But you have many more left in the deck.
And it's only a fool who wouldn't play out his hand.
[Sighing] Oh, I'm so beat. I'm
whipped. They whipped me today.
What are you waiting for? Oberheimer's 10:00 labs.
Well, can't you take them over the phone?
Not if they've been operated on today.
Herr Craig says, "ve must stay
for the labs, and ve must enjoy it."
What must I have been in my
previous lifetime to deserve this, huh?
A heart surgeon.
Gentlemen.
Nice case today, wasn't it, kochar?
Uh, which one?
What do you mean, which one? Dr. Anya.
Oh, yes, yes. Um nice.
Uh, very nice. Um, excellent.
Right, excellent. Ehrlich, you look ghastly.
I wish you would take better care of yourself.
You'll have the Hungarians thinking I'm
running some sort of slave camp around here.
Sleep a little extra in the morning, okay?
Dr. Anya and I will do rounds.
See you, 10:00, foreign physicians' conference.
Yes. Ah.
Let's not wait for the elevator.
It doesn't work for me. Oh.
We'll take the stairs. All right.
[Scoffs] Unbelievable.
If only she would ask for political asylum.
[Both laughing]
[Mews]