Chaotic, good doctors break the system.
So, for the unfamiliar, a quick plot summary of the show: ‘radical doctor develops new approach to healthcare involving prioritising patients over profits’. Yes, its an American show. A charismatic new medical director, Dr. Max Goodwin, enters the hospital of New Amsterdam and enacts the meme of being chaotic good. In a perfectly dramatic scene showcased in every trailer for the show, Max fires the entire cardiac department of the hospital for prioritising profits over patients. He then agrees to carry out a series of acts that will be beneficial for patients – which of course makes him this crazy new guy who is definitely about to be fired from the job.
The show graces us with brilliantly, cringey dialogue like:
“You know the whole system is rigged, don’t you? I mean they’re not just going to let you come in here and just help people”– says the new cool Head of the Cardiac Department. Max replies, “so let’s help as many as we can before they figure us out”. Like an absolute MAD MAN.
While the show’s optimism shines a bit too bright at times, personal problems of high magnitude are present to reveal that the doctors are less than shiny people the rest of the time. A cancer diagnosis, fertility problems, ADHD, and estrangement are some of the personal issues highlighted within the first few episodes; setting itself apart from other medical shows like Grey’s Anatomy which have, on the most part, sex related personal drama from the get-go. Though New Amsterdam has this to.
One of my favourite characters on the shows proves to be Dr. Vijay Kapoor; the head of the neurology department who is portrayed as an odd, seemingly incompetent doctor who has no place among the rest of the cast. Quickly pulling it out of the bag though, he shows how his slow and thoughtful approach to considering patients as a whole person, rather than a medical puzzle, provides results that other doctors don’t achieve.
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Basically, the show tells the tale of how the American healthcare system is flawed, while demonstrating an optimistic approach as to how to improve it in small but mighty ways, and of course in a terribly dramatic fashion. It’s wouldn’t be a terrible idea to give it a watch.
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