write-nerdy-to-me

[write-nerdy-to-me]

[write-nerdy-to-me]

People not getting MCR is political is shocking me to my core, but also know this: People got upset when RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE made political statements.

Their NAME is RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE

THEY RAGING AGAINST THE PRINTER

side note I saw rage against the machine and MCR live in like..2009 maybe? I'm not sure the year but I am sure they were awesome!

[write-nerdy-to-me]

omg the posts about mcr activated my fight or flight, what do you *mean* people don't realise they're political??? absolutely baffling, i am so confused and enraged, tf did they think any of it meant??

I am fully convinced that many of these people are

1) rage baiting for content engagement

2) heard one song on glee (which SING IS ALSO A POLITICAL SONG IM BEGGING YALL TO UNDERSTAND THAT ITS ONE OF THEIR MORE ON THE FUCKING NOSE POLITICAL ANTI CAPITALIST ANTI WAR SONGS CMON) and thought hehe i would like to spend a bunch of money to see the fun goth marching band. And unfortunately they are in for like the biggest surprise of their life.

[write-nerdy-to-me]

I know everything is shit fucked sixteen ways before lunch time, but it remains a fact that you should not trust anyone who wants you to feel like the whole world hates you all the time. That's a person trying to sell you something, swallow you whole, or bleed you dry. Especially those times when it feels like they're right.

No one wants anything good from you who wants you always feeling scared and hated. They will wear you out and leave you in the bin the second fashions change. Things are extremely high levels of fucked, but you are not hated like that. It's scary and isolating but you are not alone like that. Worst case, come and shiver like a wet dog with me, I won't say anything and we can dry out.

[write-nerdy-to-me]

Thomas W. Schaller.

[write-nerdy-to-me]

summer trends 2025

[write-nerdy-to-me]

It spoke your name on the stairs that night.

[write-nerdy-to-me]

the ocean as a metaphor ALWAYS slaps. the ocean as a hungry force that wants to consume you? the ocean as something vast and unknowable, like a god itself? the ocean as freedom and liberation? the ocean as the mysteries of the self? the ocean as love? never fails to get me

[write-nerdy-to-me]

ONCE UPON A TIME (2011-2018)

People are gonna tell you who you are your whole life. You just gotta punch back and say, “No, this is who I am”. You want people to look at you differently? Make them! You want to change things, you’re gonna have to go out there and change them yourself, because there are no fairy godmothers in this world.

[write-nerdy-to-me]

Being-A-Creative-On-Tumblr-Culture is going through all of the 24 reblogs on your post with 357 notes just to get just enough serotonin to get through your day by reading what the five god sent people who left tags wrote

[write-nerdy-to-me]

Hired a moving company and they sent four strong, strapping, beautiful lads to my house to disassemble my furniture and move all my things. I loved them. I got them pizza. They told me moving company gossip. I missed them one minute after they left. My moving lads. Come back to me. You're so strong and so well trained in safe lifting

[write-nerdy-to-me]

tumblr is a pretty tolerable place when you have thousands of people blocked and hundreds of content filters active at all times

[write-nerdy-to-me]

the pitt spreadsheet meta: javadi

hello i’ve watched the pitt 8 times and made spreadsheet about it. i’ve organized my results of analyzing the parallels and purposes of patients into three sub-series: on a doctor-by-doctor basis, on a patient-by-patient basis, and on an episode-by-episode basis. my general tag for this project is the pitt spreadsheet meta. this post is part 9 of 9 in the doctor-by-doctor sub-series, focusing on patients paralleled with victoria javadi

Intro

as we all know the pitt parallels the doctors with patients in order to convey more information about the main characters than would naturally come up in a workday. my thinking was, well we know the big parallels (ivan pugliesi and langdon, sherry sterno mom and mckay, etc), but there’s gotta be ones we’re missing. so i started another rewatch of the pitt specifically looking for parallels between doctors and patients, using a spreadsheet to organize the information. here are the specific parameters i defined for myself:

spreadsheet purpose: primary focus is to identify parallels between patients and doctors. secondary purpose is to identify writing structure through parallels between patients, foreshadowing, specific reasons to introduce various topics (this post only includes parallels, various purposes will be covered in a later series of posts)

patient definition: since the purpose of the spreadsheet is to identify parallels, only counting patients where we see them receiving treatment by a doctor and that treatment is the main purpose of the interaction

treatment definition: medical treatment, including talking a patient or their representative through next steps, and the ordering of tests and procedure if the patient or their representative is physically present during the ordering

doctors: robby, collins, langdon, mohan, mckay, mel, santos, whitaker, javadi

so! let’s go through the patient parallels i identified for javadi

Sam Wallace

Condition: blunt head trauma, intraparenchymal bleed Episodes: 1, 7 Parallels: all doctors: injured by saving someone

Nick Bradley

Condition: brain death from fentanyl overdose, organ donation Episodes: 3, 6, 7 Parallels: foil: foibles of youth Javadi hasn’t experienced

Kristi Wheeler

Condition: medication abortion Episodes: 4, 5, 6, 7 Parallels: foil: foibles of youth Javadi hasn’t experienced

Otis Williams

Condition: hyperkalemia -> rhabdomyolysis -> ventricular collapse from tamponade Episodes: 1 Parallels: all doctors: not recovering from big event and what that metaphorically does to their hearts

Wendell Stone

Condition: flail chest, tension pneumothorax, 6 broken ribs Episodes: 3 Parallels: all doctors: being metaphorically crushed by job, literal injuries acquired from job, metaphorical + literal injuries acquired due to unsafe working conditions from cutting corners

Zac Dawson

Condition: leg lacerations Episodes: 6 Parallels: foil: foibles of youth Javadi hasn’t experienced

Miles Hernandez

Condition: posterior hip dislocation, sternoclavicular dislocation Episodes: 6 Parallels: foil: foibles of youth Javadi hasn’t experienced

Chanel Sutton

Condition: butt abscess from possible home depot silicone butt injections, possible panic attack or pulmonary embolism Episodes: 6 Parallels: foil: foibles of youth Javadi hasn’t experienced

Tasha Cordera

Condition: forearm laceration Episodes: 4 Parallels: one time Javadi has consistently good bedside manner

Ms. Walker

Condition: black widow bite Episodes: 8 Parallels: Javadi vs. Shamsi: diagnostic overshadowing

Everett Young

Condition: grade 4 hyphema, hairline orbital floor fracture Episodes: 10 Parallels: “pressure cooker prodigies”; McKay: projecting onto patients

Murphy Rottenstein

Condition: liver cirrhosis from hepatitis b, burst esophageal varices, hemorrhagic shock Episodes: 11 Parallels: foil to Javadi + Shamsi’s relationship

Brian

Condition: GSW to right thigh, intracardiac air embolism Episodes: 13 Parallels: all doctors: injured and continuing to help people, endangering his own life

Totals

Multi-episode patient parallels: 3 Single episode patient parallels: 10 Patient parallels: 13 (patients treated over multiple episodes vs. patients treated in only one episode)

Conclusions

A lot of emphasis on Javadi’s shelteredness compared with other young adults her age. Particularly in episode 6, which is when the ambulance crashes. This is also reflected in her bedside manner, which is consistently a little judgemental when dealing with people her own age who made foolish mistakes with serious consequences. She’s prepared to handle the big discriminatory factors, like transness, and unprepared for how little comments can have big effects on patients, like with Sherry who is hesitant to accept help. She’s got a lot of work to do on her bedside manner. 

[write-nerdy-to-me]

Update for you guys on npr, you guys are having an effect

If you don't think you are having a difference, please look at the headlines

Abd if you don't believe those, here's an email i got today from npr

Reminder, public broadcasting was only getting $1.60 per tax payer per year.

If you donate just $1.60 per month, you can cover the funding that would have come from the taxes of 12 people each year.

Ways to donate:

Pbs foundation:

Donate to your local npr station:

Npr streaming service for podcast:

Pbs passport streaming:

[write-nerdy-to-me]

the pitt spreadsheet meta: multi-episode patients

hello i’ve watched the pitt 8 times and made spreadsheet about it. i’ve organized my results of analyzing the parallels and purposes of patients into three sub-series: on a doctor-by-doctor basis, on a patient-by-patient basis, and on an episode-by-episode basis. my general tag for this project is the pitt spreadsheet meta. this post is part 1 of 3 in the patient-by-patient sub-series, focusing on patients treated across multiple episodes

Intro

as we all know the pitt parallels the doctors with patients in order to convey more information about the main characters than would naturally come up in a workday. my thinking was, well we know the big parallels (ivan pugliesi and langdon, sherry sterno mom and mckay, etc), but there’s gotta be ones we’re missing. so i started another rewatch of the pitt specifically looking for parallels between doctors and patients, using a spreadsheet to organize the information. here are the specific parameters i defined for myself:

spreadsheet purpose: primary focus is to identify parallels between patients and doctors. secondary purpose is to identify writing structure through parallels between patients, foreshadowing, specific reasons to introduce various topics. this post is going patient by patient, covering parallels and purposes

patient definition: since the purpose of the spreadsheet is to identify parallels, only counting patients where we see them receiving treatment by a doctor and that treatment is the main purpose of the interaction

treatment definition: medical treatment, including talking a patient or their representative through next steps, and the ordering of tests and procedure if the patient or their representative is physically present during the ordering

doctors: robby, collins, langdon, mohan, mckay, mel, santos, whitaker, javadi

so! let’s go through the parallels and purposes for patients treated over multiple episodes!

Sherry (Sterno Mom)

Condition: hand burn, unhoused Episodes: 1, 5 Parallels: McKay’s backstory; Mel vs. McKay, Mohan, Santos: connecting with patient over shared experiences (sharing vs. projection); denying treatment from McKay trio: Sherry sterno mom, David Saunders, Piper Purposes: impact over intent, Javadi’s shelteredness

Louie Cloverfield

Condition: alcoholism Episodes: 1, 8, 11 Parallels: Langdon + Ivan Pugliesi: addiction and refusing help Purposes: Robby covering for Langdon; Robby trying to help another addict; Santos + drugs; Langdon vs. Santos

Sam Wallace (Good Samaritan)

Condition: blunt head trauma, intraparenchymal bleed Episodes: 1, 7 Parallels: all doctors: injured by helping someone Purposes: hate crimes, connecting across language barrier, intro paramedics

Minu

Condition: degloved foot, open fracture dislocation of the ankle Episodes: 1, 3 Parallels: foil to David Saunders, possibly Silas Dunn: victim of hate crime Purposes: demonstrate language services; ask Collins about pregnancy; prime audience to think about discriminatory violence; Javadi fainting; intro paramedics; intro Garcia; cool prosthetics

Joseph Spencer

Condition: pneumonia, sepsis Episodes: 1, 2, 3, 4 Parallels: Robby: unwilling to accept Dr. Adamson’s death; foil to other families: coming together vs. breaking apart; Mohan vs. Robby + Whitaker: who is allowed to go slow/the extra mile; denial of patient death trio: Spencers, Bradleys, Whitaker w/ Milton Purposes: intro Living Dead; trigger Robby’s PTSD; Pittsburgh pride: Mr. Rogers; intro ho’oponopono; death of elderly patient; first family to deal with grief; ER navigating family tensions; humane death

Tyler Jones

Condition: cannabis consumption Episodes: 1, 2 Parallels: Langdon: addiction, possibly exposing his kids to restricted substances Purposes: Mel + autism; intro child services; discuss discrimination POC face; Mel + Langdon; family tension

Theresa Saunders

Condition: self-induced vomiting, concerned for son Episodes: 1, 2, 6 Parallels: Bradleys: desperate to save son Purposes: ER as safety net; lack of mental health support; long-term social effects of COVID

David Saunders

Condition: possible threat to others, blunt head trauma Episodes: 1, 3, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 Parallels: McKay’s backstory; Doug Driscoll: bigotry escalating to violence; denying treatment from McKay trio: Sherry sterno mom, David Saunders, Piper Purposes: trigger Robby’s first flashback; Robby’s benevolent sexism; how psychiatric holds work; did he do the shooting???; incel culture

Bennett Milton

Condition: gallstone, cardiac arrest from unstable angina Episodes: 1, 2, 3 Parallels: Denial of patient death trio: Spencers, Bradleys, Whitaker w/ Milton; Whitaker + Jake: similar lines expressing disbelief at patient death; Whitaker vs. Mohan: Robby’s treatment of them going the extra mile Purposes: Whitaker’s first patient he treats alone; Whitaker’s first patient to die; listen to nurses; first big loss of the day; intro death debrief; “brief moment of silent reflection”; Whitaker’s bedside manner; Whitaker having med student’s worst first day

Nick Bradley

Condition: brain death from fentanyl overdose, organ donation Episodes: 3, 6, 7 Parallels: Robby + Collins: losing a child/fetus; Robby: unwilling to accept Dr. Adamson’s death; denial of patient death trio: Spencers, Bradleys, Whitaker w/ Milton; Theresa Saunders: desperate to save son; foil to Jenna Burk; foibles of youth Purposes: foreshadowing Collins’ pregnancy loss disclosures; organ donation; demonstrate family support services; bond formed between patients and providers; need to lean on people after loss; intro fentanyl overdoses; Robby vs. Collins tension; profound moment of silence

Joyce St. Clair

Condition: sickle cell crisis, acute chest syndrome Episodes: 2, 3, 5 Parallels: Mohan’s backstory; Ivan Pugliesi: chronic pain vs. drug seeking, compare Mohan’s treatment of them; Travis Johnson: compare emergency vs. non-emergency intubation Purposes: discrimination POC face; concerns over drug-seeking behavior 

Jenna Burk

Condition: fentanyl overdose Episodes: 3, 4 Parallels: Nick Bradley; Santos vs. Mohan: bedside manner; foibles of youth Purposes: demonstrate naloxone; discuss fentanyl; Javadi’s shelteredness; Nick Bradley’s dad’s blow up

Mr. Krakozhia

Condition: meth-induced schizophrenia, psychotic break from discontinuing medication, unhoused Episodes: 4, 9 Parallels: Whitaker: unhoused Purposes: psych patients being stuck in the ER; Whitaker having med student’s worst first day; street team; social support essential to proper medical care; Whitaker’s bedside manner

Kristi Wheeler

Condition: medication abortion Episodes: 4, 5, 6, 7 Parallels: Collins foil: wanted vs. unwanted pregnancy; Collins vs. Robby: bedside manner; foibles of youth; Doug Driscoll: explosion over medical care Purposes: show’s commitment to reproductive freedom; waiting room patients complaining about wait time; treating family and patient; Robby’s blindspots: race and gender; Robby + Collins moment

Joseph Marino

Condition: neurocysticercosis Episodes: 5, 6 Parallels: Robby’s PTSD: unwanted brain thing??? Purposes: Langdon’s addiction (tampered vial); Santos + drugs; Langdon vs. Santos; Santos mishandling sharps; Langdon’s bedside manner; humour; cool medical thing

Ginger Kitajima

Condition: broken upper arm, possible elder abandonment Episodes: 5, 6, 7, 8 Parallels: Mel + Becca: difficulties of caregiving for a loved one; Mel vs. McKay, Santos, Mohan: connecting with patients over shared experiences (sharing vs. oversharing/projection); Ginger + Rita: flipped caregiving responsibilities from when Ginger was a stay-at-home mom Purposes: discuss elder neglect; Robby’s playful side; social services; treating family and patient; social support essential to medical care; discuss caregiver fatigue; extent of caregiving some people need

Silas Dunn

Condition: broken rib, hemothorax, gynecomastia from progesterone poisoning Episodes: 6, 7 Parallels: Santos’ backstory; Max: compare Santos’ treatment of them; Mel vs. McKay, Santos, Mohan: connecting with patients over shared experiences (sharing vs. oversharing/projection); Wendell Stone: Santos making big mistake; Piper: McKay + Dana vs. Robby + Santos: handling of suspected Purposes: Santos + Garcia; Santos + chest tube; Santos + sharps mishandling; Santos + drugs; discuss child sexual abuse and grooming

Nandi

Condition: mercury poisoning Episodes: 7, 8 Parallels: Mohan’s dad; Bennett Milton: who Robby lets go the extra mile; Joseph Spencer + Nick Bradley: Robby + Mohan going slow Purposes: many causes of psychosis; Mohan catching error by going slow; Robby’s benevolent sexism; Javadi mimicking McKay’s small talk; Collins supporting Mohan; Robby vs. Collins tension; patient satisfaction scores

Piper

Condition: chlamydia, possible human trafficking Episodes: 8, 9 Parallels: Sherry sterno mom: refusing help from McKay; Silas Dunn: McKay + Dana vs. Robby + Santos: handling of suspected abuse cases; McKay’s backstory; denying treatment from McKay trio: Sherry sterno mom, David Saunders, Piper Purposes: street team; people in trouble refusing help; effect on providers refusing that help has; set up McKay calling cops on David; demonstrate human trafficking red flags; how to handle suspected abuse cases

Flynn Edwards

Condition: measles, pneumonia, code sepsis, possible ADEM Episodes: 14, 15 Parallels: Tyler Jones, redhead antivax mom: what antivax parenting leads to Purposes: Robby at breaking point; antimask and antivax rhetoric leads to kids dying preventable deaths; Mel + kids; Mel + autism; Robby’s blow up

Conclusions

Total patients: 20

One of my biggest discoveries with my spreadsheet approach was figuring out the implications to sam wallace and minu’s storylines. Minu’s storyline fell into place for me as soon as I started seriously looking for the structural reasons behind patient storylines: with her coming in as both the first major trauma and a potential hate crime victim, we the audience are primed to think about discriminatory violence from the get-go. We’re also primed to think about the women victims of such hate crimes, to highlight Robby’s blindspots during the Theresa and David Saunders and Silas Dunn story arcs. But Sam Wallace kept niggling at me, since he was the first trauma and the characters kept referring to him as a Good Samaritan. Then it hit me: Sam Wallace is a parallel for every doctor and nurse in the Pitt since all of them are seriously injured trying to help someone else. Robby’s PTSD, Langdon’s addiction, Collins’ miscarriage; the psychic injuries from being unable to provide adequate care due to being under-resourced, dealing with antivax and anti-mask sentiment; and of course, the trauma of the MCI. Like Sam and Minu are able to reach out to each other through their language barrier, so too are the healthcare staff able to communicate to patients through the medical jargon. So Minu and Sam Wallace are introduced as the first trauma in the first episode to demonstrate the doctor-patient relationships we will see play out for the rest of the show: doctors putting their own lives in danger and becoming grievously wounded to help someone else.

[write-nerdy-to-me]

the pitt spreadsheet meta: single-episode patients

hello i’ve watched the pitt 8 times and made spreadsheet about it. i’ve organized my results of analyzing the parallels and purposes of patients into three sub-series: on a doctor-by-doctor basis, on a patient-by-patient basis, and on an episode-by-episode basis. my general tag for this project is the pitt spreadsheet meta. this post is part 2 of 3 in the patient-by-patient sub-series, focusing on patients treated for one episode

Intro

as we all know the pitt parallels the doctors with patients in order to convey more information about the main characters than would naturally come up in a workday. my thinking was, well we know the big parallels (ivan pugliesi and langdon, sherry sterno mom and mckay, etc), but there’s gotta be ones we’re missing. so i started another rewatch of the pitt specifically looking for parallels between doctors and patients, using a spreadsheet to organize the information. here are the specific parameters i defined for myself:

spreadsheet purpose: primary focus is to identify parallels between patients and doctors. secondary purpose is to identify writing structure through parallels between patients, foreshadowing, specific reasons to introduce various topics. this post is going patient by patient, covering parallels and purposes

patient definition: since the purpose of the spreadsheet is to identify parallels, only counting patients where we see them receiving treatment by a doctor and that treatment is the main purpose of the interaction

treatment definition: medical treatment, including talking a patient or their representative through next steps, and the ordering of tests and procedure if the patient or their representative is physically present during the ordering

doctors: robby, collins, langdon, mohan, mckay, mel, santos, whitaker, javadi

so! let’s go through the parallels and purposes for patients treated for one episode!

Virgil Straker

Condition: GSW to the left shoulder Episode: 1 Parallels: foreshadowing MCI Purpose: unable to provide suitable care because of systemic issues in the ER

Charlie

Condition: complete avulsion of tooth #8, swallowed Episode: 1 Parallels: redhead antivax mom Purpose: Robby’s knowledge

Mr. Gold

Condition: campylobacter infection Episode: 1 Parallels:  Purpose: humor: Gloria talking shit, Javadi walking in after lying to her mom

Otis Williams

Condition: hyperkalemia -> rhabdomyolysis -> ventricular collapse from tamponade Episodes: 1 Parallels: all doctors: not recovering from big event and what that metaphorically does to their hearts

LUCAS Lady DNR

Condition: v-fib Episode: 1 Parallels: Purpose: intro Living Dead; intro moment of silence; Langdon’s irritability; introing Whitaker having med student’s worst first day; introing LUCAS; introing DNRs

Ben Kemper

Condition: le fort III fracture, crike Episode: 2 Parallels: foil to crikes in MCI Purpose: Langdon trying to re-establish hierarchy; intro crikes; Mel + autism; Mel + Langdon

Mr. Tagari

Condition: head laceration Episode: 2 Parallels: Purpose: intro dermabond; Robby buys pizza from his restaurant in ep 11

John Doe

Condition: electrocution, fasciotomy Episode: 2 Parallels: Garcia + Langdon: protegees of their programs Purpose: Garcia + Santos

Alex

Condition: abdominal GSW Episode: 2 Parallels: foreshadowing MCI Purpose: homeboy ambulance

Ian 

Condition: asthma attack Episode: 2 Parallels: Purpose: Javadi has a chance to ask around about McKay; Javadi + McKay working offscreen

Hank

Condition: nail to the heart causing pericardial effusion and tamponade Episode: 3 Parallels: metaphor after denial of patient death trio in previous episode Purpose: Collins’ little put down to Santos; cool prosthetics; heart surgery; verbal abuse ER staff face

Ed Gellin

Condition: STEMI Episode: 3 Parallels: metaphor after denial of patient death in previous episode Purpose: intro STEMIs; Robby’s bedside manner; Mel + Langdon

Construction Worker

Condition: closed foot injury Episode: 3 Parallels: Purpose: McKay + Javadi working offscreen

Mr. Quinn

Condition: nicotine-induced heart palpitations, a-fib Episode: 3 Parallels: Robby’s potential nicotine addiction; metaphor after denial of patient death in previous episode Purpose: addiction hard; smoking + vaping bad

Young Asian Lady

Condition: arthropod in the EAC (cockroach) Episode: 3 Parallels: Robby’s PTSD: unwanted thing in/near the brain??? Purpose: wacky shit ER sees; humour

Wendell Stone

Condition: flail chest, tension pneumothorax, 6 broken ribs Episode: 3 Parallels: all doctors: being metaphorically crushed by job, literal injuries acquired from job, metaphorical + literal injuries acquired due to unsafe working conditions from cutting corners Purpose: Garcia + Santos; Santos breaking protocol and endangering patient; Langdon vs. Santos; Robby becomes aware of Santos breaking protocol

Irritable 5 Month Old

Condition: hair tourniquet Episode: 4 Parallels: Collins + pregnancy; foreshadowing Collins’ pregnancy loss disclosures to Robby Purpose: Mel’s bedside manner; Robby’s little criticisms toward Mohan

Tasha Cordera

Condition: forearm laceration Episode: 4 Parallels: one time Javadi has consistently good bedside manner Purpose: trans issues; Javadi’s bedside manner; McKay’s alcoholism; Javadi vs. McKay: class difference

Jia Yi

Condition: imperforate hymen Episode: 4 Parallels: Mel vs. Mohan: bedside manner Purpose: Mel’s bedside manner; reproductive health ignorance

Bob Chazen

Condition: cellulitis, hematoma w/ hidden arterial laceration Episode: 5 Parallels: everything just waiting to explode; Ivan Pugliesi: Mohan breaking protocol because she thinks she knows better than the patient Purpose: Whitaker having med student’s worst first day; Mohan supporting Whitaker; Mel’s bedside manner

Doug Driscoll

Condition: chest pain Episode: 5 Parallels: Robby: anger at ER management + explosion; David Saunders: potential of discriminatory violence Purpose: patient perspective on ER

Travis Johnson

Condition: post-tonsillectomy hemorrhage Episode: 5 Parallels: Joyce St. Clair: emergency vs. planned intubation; Whitaker: not wanting to bother parents when in trouble Purpose: Robby taking Whitaker under his wing; Whitaker changing scrubs again; Whitaker finally having a win; cool airway securing; Robby’s expertise; Langdon’s skill

Zac Dawson

Condition: leg lacerations Episode: 6 Parallels: foil for Javadi: foibles of youth Purpose: bad decisions having long-terms consequences

Miles Hernandez

Condition: posterior hip dislocation, sternoclavicular dislocation Episode: 6 Parallels: foil for Javadi: foibles of youth Purpose: Javadi succeeding at procedure; Javadi’s shelteredness; Captain Morgan technique for hip reduction

Chanel Sutton

Condition: butt abscess from possible home depot silicone butt injections, possible panic attack or pulmonary embolism Episode: 6 Parallels: foil for Javadi: foibles of youth Purpose: dangers of TikTok, Mohan getting on Robby’s good side; Mohan’s appropriate thoroughness

Dillon

Condition: testicular torsion Episode: 6 Parallels: Collins; foil to angry families Purpose: Collins appreciation

Terrance

Condition: sprained ankle Episode: 7 Parallels: Mel, Becca Purpose: Mel + autism; mentor learning from mentee; Mel + Langdon

Harvey Chang

Condition: STEMI Episode: 7 Parallels: Robby: Dr. Adamson on ECMO; that trio shot of Langdon, Whitaker, Robby (explained in conclusions section of Whitaker’s post) Purpose: demonstrate ECMO; trigger Robby’s PTSD; Whitaker + chest compressions

Rocco DeJulio

Condition: amputation of the fourth fingertip at the base of the nail, bone exposed Episode: 8 Parallels: Langdon + Santos: cherrypicking Purpose: patient flirts with Collins; point out Collins isn’t okay

Willie Alexander

Condition: disconnected pacemaker wires from twiddler’s syndrome Episode: 8 Parallels: Robby: mentees of Dr. Adamson Purpose: discuss Freedom House; Dr. Adamson’s backstory; demonstrate dementia; doctor/nurse teamwork

Amber Phillips

Condition: drowning victim, cardiac arrest, moderate hypothermia Episode: 8 Parallels: Mel + Becca: saving each other; Robby + Collins: loss of fetus/child Purpose: effect of pediatric trauma cases on staff; effect of pediatric death on staff; Whitaker + chest compressions; Mel + kids; Mel + self-care

Ms. Walker

Condition: black widow bite Episode: 8 Parallels: Javadi vs. Shamsi: diagnostic overshadowing Purpose: Javadi having a win; Garcia + Santos; diagnostic overshadowing

Broken Tooth Mom

Condition: type two fracture into the dentin Episode: 9 Parallels: Dana: both punched due to waiting room violence? Purpose: violence of ER; Javadi + Mateo; reason for ER security; Dana’s big moment

Redhead Antivax Mom

Condition: fight bite extended into the joint space, high possibility of infection Episode: 8 Parallels: Doug Driscoll: waiting room violence; Tyler Jones + Flynn Edwards: antivax parenting being violent Purpose: polarization; demonstration of Dana’s note tempers are higher; Mel + Langdon; Mel + autism

Keeley Ralston

Condition: MDMA overdose, hyponatremia Episode: 8 Parallels: Santos’ backstory; Mel + Whitaker vs. Santos: Langdon’s approach to teaching them Purpose: different kind of overdose; Langdon vs. Santos; Santos + drugs; danger of unregulated drugs; Langdon’s blow-up; calling out medical culture

Walter Pernell

Condition: gnarly road rash Episode: 9 Parallels: Purpose: Langdon’s bedside manner; Mel + Langdon; the rats!; doctor/nurse teamwork; Mel + autism

Paula

Condition: head laceration, concussion; sternal fracture; sepsis; endometritis Episode: 9 Parallels: Colls + pregnancy; Langdon + Santos vs. Collins + McKay: handling of confronting colleague over potential error in care Purpose: Robby vs. Collins; dangers of fatphobia; diagnostic overshadowing

Earl

Condition: head laceration Episode: 9 Parallels: Whitaker: unhoused + food insecure Purpose: Javadi + Mateo; dermabond

Teddy

Condition: severe burns over ~90% body surface area Episode: 10 Parallels: Whitaker’s backstory; Langdon + Whitaker vs. Langdon + Santos: Langdon’s approach to teaching them Purpose: Whitaker’s bedside manner; demonstrate escharotomy; Whitaker having med student’s worst first day

Dana Evans

Condition: non-displaced nasal fracture Episode: 10 Parallels: Robby: leaders everyone depends on on the verge of collapse Purpose: assault of healthcare workers

Vera Mullahey

Condition: stroke (carotid  artery dissection left neck w/ thrombus throwing clot to the left middle cerebral artery), angioedema from medication Episode: 10 Parallels: Mel + Mohan vs. Langdon + Santos: handling disagreement over patient care Purpose: gamers calling 911 for each other internationally; Mel + autism; Mohan + Mel bonding; Mel’s self-doubt

Chadwick Harrison Ashcroft III

Condition: broken leg in 3 places, forearm lacerations Episode: 10 Parallels: foil for Robby + Collins’ relationship Purpose: McKay backstory; Santos + drugs (realizing the vial was tampered with); Mateo + McKay; intro Harrison and Chadwick Harrison Ashcroft III

Everett Young

Condition: grade 4 hyphema, hairline orbital floor fracture Episode: 10 Parallels: Javadi: pressure cooker prodigies; Javadi + McKay: projecting onto patients Purpose: medical drama trope; McKay vs. Robby

Natalie Malone

Condition: active labour, shoulder dystocia, hemorrhage Episode: 11 Parallels: Collins + pregnancy Purpose: medical drama trope; discuss surrogacy; gay couple; Mel + kids; Mel + autism; reality of childbirth; cool prosthetics

Ivan Pugliesi

Condition: opioid withdrawal Episode: 11 Parallels: Langdon: addiction, hiding it, contrast Robby’s treatment of them; Joyce St. Clair: drug-seeking behaviour, compare Mohan’s treatment of them; foil for Mohan’s dad Purpose: demonstrate drug-seeking behaviour; Mohan’s blindspot; anyone can be an addict

Murphy Rottenstein

Condition: liver cirrhosis from hepatitis b, burst esophageal varices, hemorrhagic shock Episode: 11 Parallels: McKay + Harrison: good parent-child relationship w/ addict parent; foil for Javadi + Shamsi Purpose: day catching up with Robby; McKay leading cool procedure

Conclusions

Total: 46

Trivia: I got Murphy Rottenstein’s name from rounds during the first episode, Collins presents the case to Robby but they don’t go to her room. Mr. Tagari is the owner of the pizza place Robby orders pizza from in episode 11.

Big Conclusions: I found two patients in this group that paralleled all the doctors: Otis Williams and Wendell Stone. 

Otis Williams didn’t properly recover from his triathlon, so his heart gave out. Metaphorically we see the same in Robby this season, and will almost definitely see the same in upcoming seasons. Robby never took the time to fully deal with his grief over Dr. Adamson, over the US healthcare system and COVID putting Robby in the position where he couldn’t give proper care to his mentor. And then all the events of the day build up to Robby yelling at the Edwards’ parents, bringing the Edwards father into the makeshift morgue, blaming McKay for his own improper handling of David Saunders’ case, his breakdown in Pedes and lashing out at Jake, all pushing him towards suicidality. His heart metaphorically gave out. And while Robby is the most extreme example of this we see this season, I do predict it will be a recurring plot point throughout the show, due to Robby’s leadership style, medical culture, the US healthcare system, and the under-resourcing of the ER. Robby encourages other doctors to suppress their feelings after Amber Phillips dies with his how to literally bury your feelings speech. That is the kind of thinking that partially leads to Robby’s heart metaphorically giving out, and that leads to Mel constantly apologizing for her feelings. Yes Robby and Langdon reassure Mel having feelings is acceptable practice, but Robby especially doesn’t model that. So I am predicting that we will see at least one other doctor’s heart metaphorically give out in the new season partially due to improper recovery from the MCI. 

Wendell Stone is literally crushed by his job due to the venue cutting corners at the music festival. And specifically scabs doing it wrong. (In case anyone doesn’t know, a scab is a slang term for a non-union worker willingly replacing a union worker.) The big theme of the show is how doctors are being metaphorically crushed by their jobs due to the hospital cutting corners. The pointed mention of scabs brings two moments to mind: Robby threatening to go to the media, and the nurses threatening union action over their lack of protection after Doug Driscoll punches Dana. When Robby threatens to go to the media over the under-resourcing of the ER, Gloria counters with him losing his job. Potentially there’s an undercurrent of doctors needing to unionize to protect against such retaliation? And with the nurses’ union, as with Stone, having that union isn’t enough to protect them against workplace hazards, because their workplaces are still trying to cut corners. They need to use their unions to leverage more protections, as both the nurses and Stone do.

[write-nerdy-to-me]

the pitt spreadsheet meta updated: robby

hello i’ve watched the pitt 8 times and made spreadsheet about it. i’ve organized my results of analyzing the parallels and purposes of patients into three sub-series: on a doctor-by-doctor basis, on a patient-by-patient basis, and on an episode-by-episode basis. my general tag for this project is the pitt spreadsheet meta. this post is part 1 of 9 in the doctor-by-doctor sub-series, focusing on patients paralleled with michael “robby” robinavitch

Intro

as we all know the pitt parallels the doctors with patients in order to convey more information about the main characters than would naturally come up in a workday. my thinking was, well we know the big parallels (ivan pugliesi and langdon, sherry sterno mom and mckay, etc), but there’s gotta be ones we’re missing. so i started another rewatch of the pitt specifically looking for parallels between doctors and patients, using a spreadsheet to organize the information. here are the specific parameters i defined for myself:

spreadsheet purpose: primary focus is to identify parallels between patients and doctors. secondary purpose is to identify writing structure through parallels between patients, foreshadowing, specific reasons to introduce various topics (this post only includes parallels, various purposes will be covered in a later series of posts)

patient definition: since the purpose of the spreadsheet is to identify parallels, only counting patients where we see them receiving treatment by a doctor and that treatment is the main purpose of the interaction

treatment definition: medical treatment, including talking a patient or their representative through next steps, and the ordering of tests and procedure if the patient or their representative is physically present during the ordering

doctors: robby, collins, langdon, mohan, mckay, mel, santos, whitaker, javadi

so! let’s go through the patient parallels i identified for robby

Louie Cloverfield

Condition: alcoholism Episodes: 1, 8, 11 Parallels: Langdon + Ivan Pugliesi: addiction and refusing help; Langdon vs. Ivan Pugliesi + Louie Cloverfield: compare Robby’s approach to them and their treatment

Sam Wallace

Condition: blunt head trauma, intraparenchymal bleed Episodes: 1, 7 Parallels: all doctors: injured by saving someone

Joseph Spencer

Condition: pneumonia, sepsis Episodes: 1, 2, 3, 4 Parallels: Dr. Adamson: unwilling to accept his death; Mohan: going too slow

Bennett Milton

Condition: gallstone, cardiac arrest, unstable angina Episodes: 1, 2, 3 Parallels: Whitaker vs. Mohan: Robby’s treatment of them going the extra mile

Nick Bradley

Condition: brain death from fentanyl overdose, organ donation Episodes: 3, 6, 7 Parallels: Robby + Collins: losing a child/fetus; Robby: unwilling to accept Dr. Adamson’s death

Kristi Wheeler

Condition: medication abortion Episodes: 4, 5, 6, 7 Parallels: Robby vs. Collins: bedside manner

Joseph Marino (potentially)

Condition: neurocysticercosis Episodes: 5, 6 Parallels: Robby’s PTSD: unwanted brain thing? feel like there’s something more going on with with these bug cases i can’t quite put my finger on

Silas Dunn

Condition: broken rib, hemothorax, gynecomastia from progesterone poisoning Episodes: 6, 7 Parallels: McKay + Dana vs. Robby + Santos: handling of suspected abuse cases

Nandi

Condition: mercury poisoning Episodes: 7, 8 Parallels: Bennett Milton + Whitaker: who Robby lets go the extra mile; Nandi vs. Nick Bradley + Joseph Spencer: Mohan vs. Robby, who Robby lets go the extra mile

Piper

Condition: chlamydia, possible human trafficking Episodes: 8, 9 Parallels: McKay + Dana vs. Robby + Santos: handling of suspected abuse cases

Otis Williams

Condition: hyperkalemia -> rhabdomyolysis -> ventricular collapse from tamponade Episode: 1 Parallels: all doctors: not recovering from big event and what that metaphorically does to their hearts

Mr. Quinn

Condition: nicotine-induced heart palpitations, a-fib Episode: 3 Parallels: Robby: potential nicotine addiction

Young Asian Lady (potentially)

Condition: arthropod in the EAC (cockroach) Episode: 3 Parallels: Robby’s PTSD: unwanted thing in/near brain? feel like there’s something more going on with with these bug cases i can’t quite put my finger on

Wendell Stone

Condition: flail chest, tension pneumothorax, 6 broken ribs Episodes: 3 Parallels: all doctors: being metaphorically crushed by job, literal injuries acquired from job, metaphorical + literal injuries acquired due to unsafe working conditions from cutting corners

Doug Driscoll

Condition: chest pain Episode: 5 Parallels: foil to Robby: anger at ER management + explosion

Harvey Chang

Condition: STEMI Episode: 7 Parallels: Robby: Dr. Adamson on ECMO; that trio shot of Robby, Langdon, and Whitaker (explained in conclusions section of Whitaker’s post)

Willie Alexander

Condition: disconnected pacemaker wires from twiddler’s syndrome Episode: 8 Parallels: mentees of Dr. Adamson

Amber Phillips

Condition: drowning victim, asystole, moderate hypothermia Episode: 8 Parallels: Robby + Collins: loss of child/fetus

Dana Evans

Condition: non-displaced nasal fracture Episode: 10 Parallels: leaders everyone depends on on the verge of collapse

Chadwick Harrison Ashcroft III

Condition: broken leg in 3 places, forearm lacerations Episode: 10 Parallels: Chadwick Harrison Ashcroft III + McKay vs. Collins + Robby: complicated relationship with ex-partner, parenthood

Ivan Pugliesi

Condition: opioid withdrawal Episode: 11 Parallels: Langdon vs. Ivan Pugliesi + Louie Cloverfield: compare Robby’s approach to them and their treatment

Grayson Cooper

Condition: head laceration, intracranial bleed Episodes: 12, 13 Parallels: Black Guy Draped: Mohan mimicking Abbot + Robby

Jewelry Store Owner

Condition: abdominal GSW, delirium Episodes: 13 Parallels: Robby + Abbot: Langdon mimicking them

Leah

Condition: GSW to left chest, intracardiac Episode: 13 Parallels: Langdon + Dr. Adamson: thinks he failed all three of them

Brian

Condition: GSW to right thigh, intracardiac air embolism Episodes: 13 Parallels: all doctors: injured and continuing to help people, endangering his own life

Totals

Multi-episode patient parallels: 11 Single episode patient parallels: 14 Patient parallels: 25 (patients treated over multiple episodes vs. patients treated in only one episode)

Conclusions

Once I started paying attention to Robby’s parallels, I noticed that Robby’s flashbacks were either triggered by a direct comparison to taking Dr. Adamson off life support, or feeling like he failed a patient. His flashback at the beginning of episode 3 is triggered by failing to catch David before he could leave the hospital. His flashback in episode 11 is triggered by feeling like he failed Langdon in not noticing Langdon was struggling. And of course the big breakdown during the MCI after he fails to save Leah and console Jake. 

Most interesting thing about Robby’s parallels is the lack of a consistent throughline. For all the other doctors, their parallels mostly revolve around a single storyline, while Robby has multiple storylines going: his PTSD, his relationship with Collins, his hypocrisy with Mohan, losing the support of people he depends on to run the ER because of their own issues. It’s the multiple pressures that lead to Robby’s breakdown, like it’s the multiple pressures affecting healthcare that lead to emergency departments breaking down.