Main takeaways from The Retrievals: Episode 1, The Patients, from an anesthesiologist & ethicist.

This new series from Serial Productions details how women's pain is ignored and describes the incredible downstream costs to patients.

Spoilers Ahead: This post discusses Episode 1 of The Retrievals.

Now, let's dive in.

"You are treated like a hysterical woman from the second you walk in there."

Gaslighting women's pain means women endure terrible health outcomes and mask multiple harmful issues in healthcare systems.

Women are blamed for the failures of numerous systems.

"How could this happen at Yale?"

From the very beginning, patients trusted Yale to provide excellent care. This isn't a dig on Yale - this story could have come out of any storied American university.

Organizational Betrayal

Patients are harmed by drug diversion.

Telling patients that no harm occurred from the swapping of fentanyl (a powerful pain med) with saline dismisses the lived experiences of patients to preserve a myth of excellence.

Substance use by HCW is a major issue

At least 10-12% of HCWs will develop a substance use disorder during their careers, including at least 1 in 10 physicians, and 1 in 5 nurses.

The way we talk about SUD influences the chances of treatment and recovery.

Check back with me for Episode 2.