Code Black

I was really looking forward to watching this film, so much so, that I was willing to try to arrange for a private showing at a local theater and volunteer my time to show it, before it became available to watch on-line.

I am a board certified Physician Assistant and have been practicing medicine for over 23 years. I currently work in a very busy emergency department in Los Angeles. I am an integral part of the team on the front lines, and the mid-level providers (PAs and Nurse Practitioners) see just as many patients as the doctors. We may not see the sickest, but we are the ones in triage, fast track, and walking out into the waiting room (as was mentioned in this film) to move patients along and sometimes get them taken care of before they have to wait another 3 hours to get into the main emergency room. We also see patients in the main emergency department, keeping the flow going, and sometimes assisting the docs on more complicated cases.

I was so offended by the remark made by one of the doctors in the film, about mid-level providers, that I almost stopped watching it, but luckily it was at the end. Do your homework before commenting on us being lesser than you, because we aren't. PAs and NPs have been around for a long time and are highly trained, well educated medical providers who can be your biggest asset.

I agree with everything that was portrayed regarding the bureaucratic nightmare that we deal with on a daily basis, but my other piece of advise to the doctors on this film is to drop the ego a little bit. Yes we do amazing work, but don't let it go to your head so much.

This documentary is very honest about what happens, but it comes from a doctor perspective. It does not address nursing concerns, in fact They ignore the factor of patient to nurse ratio etc. They don't discuss all of third the people that help out- laboratory, respiratory therapy, and nursing, etc. The one thing I loved about it is that it talks about excessive documentation- it takes away fro taking care of patients efficiently.

Greetings again from the darkness. Filmmaker/Doctor (an unusual combo) Ryan McGarry takes us behind the Emergency Room curtain at LA County General ... one of the busiest ER departments in the country, with a waiting room filled with low income, uninsured people desperate for medical attention. So desperate that they will wait up to 18 hours to see a doctor.

We see live action sequences from C-Booth (Critical Booth) in the "old" Emergency Room prior to the opening of the shiny new facility next door. The footage is startling and quickly explains why so few doctors are cut out for this particular work. The workspace is limited and the most serious trauma cases are wheeled in with medical staff whirling around at full speed and full adrenaline. Life and death medical decisions must be made at a frantic pace, and each person must perform their role precisely during this operating ballet.

This initial C-Booth footage is not for the squeamish but sets the stage for the abrupt changes brought on by the new facility. Bureacracy and compliance put an immediate kibosh on the doctor/patient relationship. We know this because the doctors tell us. They now must spend the bulk of their time completing paperwork rather than seeing patients.

We hear directly from a group of interns and we admire their passion for medicine and healing. Still, the apparent bashing of a business-first approach and compliance-heavy process highlight the real world inexperience of these young docs. Unfortunately, very few of the veteran doctors have much to say on camera and instead, director/doctor McGarry guides us through his words and eyes in hopes of creating empathy for his "I just want to help people" devotion.

The C-Booth footage is fascinating and reminds us that "M*A*S*H" was purely entertainment and "Grey's Anatomy" probably doesn't even deserve to be called a medical drama. Where the film falters is in not contrasting the LA County General clientèle with that of the suburban facilities that deal almost exclusively with the insured populace. That seems to be a much more interesting comparison than old school crash cart trauma with no tracking to the new world of hospital compliance.

Full disclosure, I am an ER physician, though I don't personally know the director or any of the other individuals in this movie.

I think everyone should watch this film! It is focused on a handful of emergency medicine residents (training physicians), but the movie applies to other hospital workers and pre-hospital providers alike. The film gives a quick synopsis of the difficulties one faces working in an ER-- overcrowding, over-utilization for non-emergent conditions, lack of resources (including staff), frivolous lawsuits, excessive paperwork (now computer work which is even more inefficient), and so forth. It also deals with the emotional aspects of the job, seeing patients die, seeing patients resuscitated, and hearing family members weep for their deceased loved-ones. The film is fast paced, just like working in an ER (and perfect for most of us ER professionals with ADD). There's blood, psychotic people shouting, and drunk people singing, all of which accurately portray any given moment in a chaotic ER.

If you are a healthcare worker, you will appreciate the film. If you are not in the healthcare industry, I highly recommend you catch this entertaining movie to see what it's really like to work in an ER...it's much different than the dramatic TV shows many of us grew up with!

Code Black is a documentary of County General Hospital in Los Angeles, particularly C-Booth which is a small, cramped, intimate emergency room with little to no privacy for the patients who are admitted there.

We learn about the doctors who work there and what inspired them to seek employment there as well as the changes made to the facility and the administrative side of that department. Requirements from Mr. Corporate to fill out paperwork before a procedure is done is one of the frustrations the doctors face.

We also see graphic, very graphic procedures being performed on patients! Be forewarned-if you are squeamish you might want to re-think seeing this especially if you are heading for dinner afterward! You will see graphic shots of people opened up. It's tough to watch.

It is interesting but it isn't particularly riveting. It is also tragic, sad, repulsive and scary. In other words, it's brutal.