Elizabeth Banks (left) stars in ‘A Mistake’ as a brilliant surgeon caught in the turmoil of a duel. … (+)
(NOTE: This article has spoiler alerts!)
A mistake is a captivating medical drama that premiered at this year’s Tribeca Festival. Set in New Zealand, the film tells the story of a surgeon, brilliantly played by Elizabeth Banks, whose resident, Richard, makes a mistake in the operating room. The subsequent consequences—tragic, political, and sexist—pull back the curtain on the raw, unglamorous life of a doctor, the stressors of medical training, and the emotional turmoil experienced by grieving families.
This movie is No Grey’s Anatomy. Think about Apocalypse now Satisfies Terms of endearmentAs a physician, I appreciate director Christine Jeffs’ realistic depiction of the life of a surgeon, particularly that of a female surgeon. A mistake It resonated with me on many levels. I will share my personal experiences as a doctor, as well as my encounters navigating the US healthcare system. I also interviewed two successful, high-performing female surgeons who will also share their stories of grueling residency training complicated by gender bias and the demands of balancing surgical and domestic life.
When I asked Jeffs why he chose to make this film, he said the novel of the same name was brilliant. “Carl Shuker was editor of the British Medical Journal for many years, so there is a lot of truth in the actual details of the story, gleaned from his extensive research,” explains Jeffs, who also directed Rain, Silvia and Cleaning in the sun.
Jeffs was also impressed by the strong female character: “It’s very important to me to present successful, vulnerable and real female characters.” The New Zealand-born filmmaker was also influenced by her personal experience with the medical system, becoming an advocate for her partner “who, due to a medical accident, she was in a coma, with sepsis, dying. There was no way for her to survive that, but she recovered.” Jeffs quickly realized the complexity of the health care system that she skillfully portrays in A mistake.
The life of a surgeon: a realistic portrait
After initial surprise at the New Zealand accent and lack of professional qualifications, he referred to the senior surgeon as “Mrs. Taylor” instead of “Dr. Taylor” – My memories of long work hours, lack of sleep, and the complexities of clinical care came rushing back. The film begins with Dr. Taylor sleeping dressed in her medical gown on a small bed in a dark room. Her phone rings; She answers and says, “I’ll be there.” We then see her walk down a hallway, exhausted, toward the emergency room, where she encounters a scared, bad-looking, and painful young woman. While evaluating the patient, the treating surgeon questions the resident while palpating the patient’s tender abdomen and provides bedside teaching, a key feature at all academic medical centers.
The above sequence brought back many memories of my own residency: long hours, being on night duty every fourth night (every third night if I worked in the intensive care unit), overwhelmed by lack of sleep, being called at all hours, being directed to families. questions, respond to “codes” (e.g., cardiac arrest), and admit new patients. Clinical teaching is also a key part of being a doctor. We frequently see Dr. Taylor instructing her resident in the emergency department, in the operating room, and even at a restaurant after hours. He shape she delivered her guide in the last scenario, it could have been better, which I’ll get to later.
“Surgery is a great career and incredibly fulfilling, especially when you see the immediate help it provides to patients and their families,” describes Jennifer Berumen, MD, transplant surgeon at UC San Diego Health. “But when things go wrong, it can be devastating. It can be difficult to remember the good things you have done.”
Surgery is an exceptionally demanding field. It takes a certain personality, says Alessandrina Freitas, MD, MPH, a plastic and reconstructive surgeon at White Plains Hospital.
“Surgery is not for everyone, and those of us who choose this lifestyle knowing the personal costs, do so because it is our vocation“ explains Dr. Freitas. “Being a surgeon is a center part of my identity and I would choose this path again. However, stress is real: we are responsible for people’s lives in a very immediate and intimate way. Sometimes that keeps you up at night. “Sometimes things don’t go as planned.”
When errors occur
The doctors and surgeons, represented by Elizabeth Banks’ character in ‘A Mistake’, face a double face … (+)
Doctors are not infallible. They make mistakes like all humans. In the movie, I felt that Dr. Taylor should have spoken to the family immediately after the operation and let her resident observe instead of leaving it up to Richard, who was clearly uncomfortable and unsure. Observing experienced treating physicians is how students learn. That said, when the senior surgeon spoke to the parents after the tragic loss of his daughter, the conversation could have been handled better. First, she should not have been alone, but with a team that included the ICU doctor and nurse, a grief counselor, and possibly the hospital chaplain. Additionally, Dr. Taylor could have been more empathetic by using phrases like “I’m sorry” and that her daughter “fought hard” and “wasn’t alone.”
The reality is that doctors receive very little formal guidance on proper communication during their many years of medical and surgical training. Dr. Freitas agrees.
“I did not receive any direct training in ‘didactic’ communication, but I witnessed many examples of surgeons delivering pain-inducing news effectively and horribly,” reflects Dr. Freitas. “I learned by witnessing and I think sometimes in surgery , training programs can exclude trainees from difficult conversations. It is essential to witness these conversations during training.”
The culture is changing, according to Dr. Berumen. “Medical schools are now making more efforts to focus on compassionate communication. In residency, there was very little focus on how to talk to patients and their families, and a lot of focus on getting ahead and just getting the job done.” He continued: “As a surgeon, knowing how to have difficult conversations about complications and difficult decisions is incredibly important. If things are not handled well initially, patients and families will not trust you as a surgeon.”
Double standards faced by female doctors
Discrimination in the workplace undermines a surgeon’s credibility and harms her ability to do her job. … (+)
Women in all sectors face gender bias. The medical field is no different. Female doctors are often held to a different standard than their male counterparts, including in dress: one study showed that doctors earned respect regardless of their dress, while most patients believed it was inappropriate for female doctors. Doctors will not wear a white coat. The female doctors are also labeled as “emotional,” as is Banks’ head surgeon, whose boss, played sinfully well by Simon McBurney, further displayed his misogyny by stating that “women shouldn’t become surgeons.”
Dr. Berumen has witnessed gender discrimination throughout her career. “People call me ‘honey’ (but not their male colleagues), comment on my appearance and ask if I’m pregnant.” She remembers that she would invite male residents to social events, but not female residents. The hepatobiliary surgeon also observed male surgeons sexually harassing female trainees. “One of my fellow residents reported an incident and no one believed her,” says Dr. Beruman. “A few years later, the man who served the resident who was reported was fired for the same type of behavior.”
Double standards also manifest beyond hospital walls. I remember watching a Broadway musical after my shift, still wearing a fleece vest with the hospital logo. A lovely man sitting next to me saw the medical attire, shared that he was a cancer survivor, and then asked, “Are you a social worker?” Many of my fellow doctors are asked if they are nurses, despite wearing a long white coat and a name tag displaying their medical credentials. Not my male colleagues. And this despite the fact that women represent more than 55% of enrolled medical students. Gender discrimination is even worse among women doctors of color. Dr. Freitas has certainly observed double standards that female surgeons face.
“Why do certain (male) surgeons get more support staff? Why do some surgeons rise quickly through the administrative ranks? asks Dr. Freitas, rhetorically. He has repeatedly witnessed favorable attitudes and achievements such as promotions given to his male colleagues, and “it’s not because they are the most talented.”
Although both Drs. Berumen and Freitas feel supported in their respective work environments; Most female surgeons in the United States work in much more toxic spaces. Dr. Freitas states that “’emotional’ is a term to make fun of female surgeons.” She points out the double standard that “women are ’emotional’ but men are ‘passionate.’ I demand the best for my patients. “You can call it whatever you want.” Dr. Freitas believes that the most effective way to address gender discrimination is to point it out in real time and move on.
my take
Director of photography John Toon, director Christine Jeffs, Mickey Sumner and composer Frank Ilfman … (+)
As a physician of color who has navigated the complex American healthcare system from a variety of clinical settings (academic medical centers, VA hospitals, homeless shelter clinics, Rikers Island jail, and methadone clinics), I identified with the frustration from Dr. Taylor. The film describes the difficulty of finding clear answers in a field full of nuances. A mistake It also highlights how women in medicine (in all sectors, really) are constantly undermined by men (and sometimes women) in leadership positions. Not just Dr. Taylor No “overly emotional,” showed exceptional strength, taking responsibility for his resident’s mistake, living with financial independence, and advocating for his resident in his service.
I thought Jeffs did a great job humanizing doctors, revealing the multiple responsibilities they have to deal with at any given time (clinical, administrative, personal, educational, etc.). This delicate balancing act is further complicated for female physicians by workplace politics and gender bias. . Doctors are not perfect or divine figures. “We need to disguise the narrative of the surgeon as a superhero because the effect is an unrealistic and unattainable goal,” declares Dr. Freitas.
After years of clinical medicine, I have learned that patients ultimately seek the desire to be heard. They want to know that doctors care, that we empathize with their pain, their frustration, their anger and their confusion. They just don’t want to feel alone. Nobody does it.
