The Documentary "Waiting Room" Essay PDF

The Documentary "Waiting Room" Essay ==================================== Introduction ------------ The 'Waiting Room' is a documentary film based on the daily experiences of doctors working in American public hospitals. The film was directed by Peter Nicks, who is a producer, cinematographer, and...

The Documentary "Waiting Room" Essay ==================================== Introduction ------------ The 'Waiting Room' is a documentary film based on the daily experiences of doctors working in American public hospitals. The film was directed by Peter Nicks, who is a producer, cinematographer, and editor. Linda Davis, an Emmy nominee filmmaker, was the producer of the film. Lawrence Lerew, Bill Hirsch, and Scott Verges, among others, were part of the filmmakers. The film is set in a hospital, Highland Hospital, located in Oakland, California. The film reflects on the daily life at American public hospitals, especially for uninsured patients. The documentary focuses on about ten patients who attend the Highland Hospital amid desperation and poor medical care offered at the hospital. Through the film, the audience can learn about the challenges patients face, visiting American public hospitals, who are in dire need of medical attention. Individuals featured in the film -------------------------------- The film closely features the experiences of four patients moving from the waiting room through their admission to Emergency Rooms, discharge, and their exit at the billing desks. Highland Hospital provides services to about two hundred and forty people every twenty-four hours and has a population of about 250 000 in Oakland ("Highland Hospital"). The patients are multi-raced and come from different cultures with different medical histories. The nurses in the film seem disorganized, and some patients' Medicare is canceled without valid reasons. The film features an uninsured student and a family member who had a testicular tumor and had an appointment for surgery. However, the surgery was canceled despite the medical examinations taken (Wilson 13:34-15:16). The film also features a carpenter who had worked for his company for over 30 years with bone spurs on his lower back (Wilson 15:10-16:49). The film presents patients who are at risk of losing their lives due to the hospital's bureaucracy. An angry man shows up in the hospital, demanding his chest catheter removed to save him from excruciating pain (Wilson 1:09:57-1:10:42). A boy loses his life to a gunshot after a revival failure (Wilson 1:00:36-1:01:21). The patients featured in the film present the excruciating pains and frustrations the patients without insurance covers face in American public hospitals. Death brokering --------------- Death brokering involves those activities by medical professionals rendering individual deaths culturally meaningful. In the film, two doctors discuss the death of a patient. One of the doctors states that they cannot let the victim's family see the deceased to allow time for evidence collection (Wilson 1:00:44-1:01:51). As presented in the film, death brokering softens the language of death news to the victim's family to preserve social harmony (Hov et al. 13). Therefore, through the notion of death brokering, the briefed families accept the death of members. Professional Socialization -------------------------- Nurses and doctors play a significant role in giving desperate patients hope. Throughout the film, some nurses have been presented as nagging the patients. For instance, the nurse examining the man who wants his chest catheter removed asked the patient questions that raised his anger (Wilson 1:09:57-1:10:42). However, some nurses are friendly to the patients. A woman nurse in the film joyfully interacts with one patient to the extent of the patient smiling amid his excruciating situation (Wilson 53:01-55:02). Therefore, medical professionals play a significant role in motivating patients in hospitals. Conclusion ---------- The 'Waiting Room' is a film based on the true happenings in American public hospitals. The film, set at Highland Hospital in Oakland, reflects on the daily patients' experiences in public hospitals. The hospitals are full of bureaucracy living patients die. Furthermore, some of the medical professionals in the hospitals fail to give moral support to the visiting hospitals. Lack of insurance coverage is a major challenge limiting patients from accessing prompt and quality healthcare. Therefore, despite the advancements in the American healthcare system, many patients visiting public hospitals face challenges. Works Cited ----------- Hov, Laila, Bodil Tveit, and Oddgeir Synnes. "Nobody Dies Alone in the Electronic Patient Record---A Qualitative Analysis of the Textual Practices of Documenting Dying and Death." *OMEGA-Journal of Death and Dying* (2021): 00302228211019197. "Highland Hospital." *Alameda Health System*, 2021. Web. "[*[The Waiting Room 1080p HD.]*](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzIin6OVoLU)" *YouTube*, uploaded by Jason Wilson. 2017. Web.