Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers for The Pitt Season 1, Episode 9.
There have been many medical series that try to tackle real-life issues in their storytelling. Recent shows such asGrey’s Anatomy,The Resident,The Good Doctor,andNew Amsterdamhave all explored authentic topics like addiction,mental health conditions, and the effects of trauma.Max’s new hit series,The Pitt, has followed in the footsteps of its predecessors, with episodes that have focused on the unhoused community, the dangers of fentanyl overdoses, and themany tragic circumstancesthat unfold in a bustling hospital emergency room. But with many of these other medical shows,more nuanced issues facing the medical community have fallen to the wayside.The Pittis changing that with one issue that has not been fully delved into on television before.
‘The Pitt’ References an Important Topic in Its Latest Episode
InThe Pitt’s latest episode, a female patient is brought in after losing consciousness and control of her vehicle. While treating her injuries from the car crash, the team of doctors realizes that the woman, named Paula Rogers (Julia Boyd), was a patient at the ER earlier in the day. Dr. McKay (Fiona Dourif)had diagnosed herwith a bladder infection and had sent her home. Now, Paula is in dire straits, and the team must figure out why her condition has deteriorated. Dr. Heather Collins (Tracy Ifeachor) discovers that Paula actually gave birth at the same hospital a short time ago. That information leads to the diagnosis of an endometrial infection (which can happen after childbirth). However, Paula crashes and has to be intubated, andshe’ll likely have a challenging road to recovery (both from her infection and her subsequent injuries from the car crash).
After the doctors have worked to stabilize Paula, Collins pulls McKay aside and questions how this oversight could have happened. McKay claims that she did everything she was supposed to given what Paula’s symptoms were (it looked like a simple bladder infection).But Collins suggests that McKay had a bias towards the patient because Paula is overweight.McKay seems surprised by the insinuation that shedidn’t provide adequate care, but Collins notes that she should have at least done a more thorough work-up, which would have included a diagnostic pelvic exam. Instead, McKay likely rushed through her time with Paula and got her in and out of the ER very quickly, even if Paula wasn’t truly ready to be discharged. It is possible that even McKay, who appears to be especially sensitive to her patients, does have an unconscious bias towards overweight people. In fact,this type of weight stigma is incredibly common in real life, and can lead to very dangerous outcomes for the patient.
‘The Pitt’ Works Because of This One Major Change to the Medical Show Format
Paging, Dr. Jerk?
Weight Stigma Is a Significant Issue in Healthcare, as Depicted in ‘The Pitt’
Research has shown that many doctors who treat overweight or obese patientsdon’t give them the same quality of careas they would a thin person. In fact,doctors are more likely to dismiss their symptoms, give less thorough examinations, and attribute their symptoms solely to their weight.For example, if an overweight patient comes in with knee pain, some doctors would dismiss the pain as normal for someone who carries more weight on their body. They might not order any tests or give referrals to physical therapy. The patient would simply be advised to handle the pain on their own, and would likely be recommended that they should lose weight if they want the pain to go away (regardless of what injuries or conditions could actually be affecting the knee). In many cases, the doctor is not trying to be hurtful or intentionally negligent; their bias could be a subconscious one that they’re not aware of.
These biases stem greatly fromhow our culture as a whole views overweight people. There’s so much less empathy and care given to anyone who doesn’t fit what has been deemed the ideal body weight. These types of weight bias (even more subtle actions such as dismissive or negative comments) can have a huge impact on patient care. Patients canexperience delayed treatment or receive entirely wrong diagnoses, all of which can lead to very dangerous (even fatal) situations. Overweight patients are also less likely to seek medical care in the future because of these harmful experiences, which, in turn, sets them up for even more serious health outcomes going forward. Some in the medical community insist that this stigma exists because there is not enough of a focus oncare for obese patients in medical schoolor residency programs. Others insist it’s just a matter of some physicians not having the empathy necessary to put themselves in their patients' shoes. It’s likely that there are a number of factors at play in perpetuating these stereotypes and biases, butthe patients are the ones who are suffering, and the consequences for them can be life-threatening.
‘The Pitt’ Is Helping Draw Attention to Weight Biases
By including the storyline about Paula and McKay’s treatment of her,The Pittgives its viewersinsight into an important issuethat doesn’t get talked about nearly enough. It is rare for these types of dramas to dive into the more complex and nuanced parts of medical practice, butThe Pittis demonstrating that it has the ability to have its characters examine their own backgrounds and biases. These aspects of healthcare are not always examined because they’re not as covert or as obvious to everyone.McKay is one of the most empathetic doctorson staff. She works with the outreach team to help patients outside the hospital, and she seems to be super-aware of how doctors can discourage people from getting help (as seen in prior episodes where she tried to help an unhoused woman and a patient she thought was a victim of trafficking). With this storyline,the writers are proving that even someone who is sensitive to the needs of underserved people can still have an unconscious biasthat ends up causing severe problems for their patient.
By having McKay be the doctor who messed up such an important diagnosis,The Pittillustrates that weight bias can affect all medical professionals. But hopefully by shining light on this issue, there will be a greater awareness of how harmful weight stereotypes and prejudices can be. There’s a chance that more awareness can help prevent it from continuing on in the future. It’s about time that amedical show addressed thisvery common and upsetting element of our healthcare system.The Pittshould continue to take on these realistic and fascinating issues going forward, becausethese types of biases can often hide in the shadows, where they can keep flourishing and causing more pain.
The Pittis available to stream on Max in the U.S. New episodes drop every Thursday.
