One Bullet

Leela is helping Padma prepare for her C-section at the start of The Resident Season 6. Padma is obsessing over “the terrible things that can go wrong at any given moment.” I understand Padma, she went through a lot when she nearly lost her pregnancy. It is scary to feel like you have no control, especially when preparing to bring new life into the world.

Padma asks Leela to promise her that if something happens to her, she will take care of the twins.

Conrad and Cade were on a Go Team call when they heard gunshots. They ran to help and found a man, lying on the street bleeding from a gunshot wound to the abdomen. They rushed the man to Chastain after being diverted by Yates University hospital, which was the nearest ER. ..

Conrad tells Cade that one bullet can require 100 healthcare workers to fix the damage it causes. The scene then cuts to a timetable that starts the countdown on how many healthcare workers will work on this patient.

At the hospital, Dr. Sullivan is getting ready for what looks like a busy day and is notified that he is required to get a drug test. All nurses and doctors on shift have to do a mandatory drug test. Dr.Sullivan panics and starts taking oxaprozin to create a believable excuse. He tests positive on his drug test and lies to Kitty that he has been taking back pain medication. Kitty asks him to stop taking the oxaprozin and get tested again in a week. ..

Conrad suggests to Kitty that they do a hospital-wide drug test in order to ensure the safety of their patients. Kitty feels that Conrad broke her confidence, but Conrad insists that they can’t let a drug-addicted surgeon operate on patients. He explains he didn’t tell Kitty any specifics, just made a suggestion. ..

Padma arrives at the hospital and is still anxious about what could happen. AJ and her doctors do their best to calm her down and assure her everything will be okay. ..

The team arrives with their patient and they immediately start medical intervention. They are rushing to stabilize him and get to the OR. The whole process from the car to the point where they stabilized him enough for the OR took 14 health workers. Conrad updates Kitty on the patient and they discuss the toll GSWs have on a public hospital’s budget.

After his first surgery, the patient has so far been treated by 35 health workers. He will need another surgery to remove the bullet that is lodged in his lower thoracic spine. There is a 50% chance that he will be paralyzed if they leave it. He also has damaged kidneys and will need to be put on dialysis around the clock. ..

He will need real-time monitoring so a nurse and a doctor will need to sit with him and observe him. Kitty is not happy about this as they already have a shortage of nurses but they still need to do their best to save him. This brings the tally to 43 health workers who are currently treating the man.

In the Season 3 episode “AJ and Leela’s Excellent Adventure”, Padma and the other doctors at the hospital are forced to leave GSW patient AJ in their care. By the end of the episode, AJ’s internal bleeding has gotten out of control, and he has cost the hospital nearly half a million dollars. 100 health workers have worked tirelessly to keep him alive. ..

The GSW case creates a backlog in the OR as doctors are forced to push back or cancel their surgeries. Padma’s surgery is pushed back, making her more nervous. Other patients also feel the ripple effect as more procedures are pushed back or cancelled.

Padma’s condition as she awaits for an OR to open up gets worse. She is having an abruption and needs surgery right away. They cancel another surgery and get her to the OR immediately. The babies are delivered well but Padma is bleeding excessively and they are out of blood.

Leela is forced to leave her surgery to take Billie’s place. She rushes to Padma and does her best to remain calm and save her. It was a close call, but she manages to stop the bleeding before Padma coded. ..

The Episode Review

This episode tried to emphasize the toll gun violence takes on public hospitals. Most public hospitals are understaffed and are on a tight budget. One bullet can cause great havoc and everyone feels the ripple effect. This is a topic that is not discussed enough, and the show did a great job highlighting the impact of gun violence in hospitals. ..

Padma has a long recovery ahead of her, but I hope she will be okay. It was a beautiful and moving scene seeing AJ and his sons for the first time.