Carol's Second Act (2019) s01e12 Episode Script

1 Lexie, are you eating pizza? Yes.
Is that odd? It is at 8:00 a.
m.
Fine.
I'm stress eating, Carol.
I've tried stress walking and stress crying, so this is just where I'm at.
Why are you stressed? Oh, is it because of peer evaluations? Yes.
(CHUCKLES) Today is judgment day.
We're each gonna get called in one by one so that our bosses can tell us all the things we anonymously said about each other.
It's horrifying.
I'm not worried.
Everyone knows I've been crushing it.
Strangers know I've been crushing it.
That's because yesterday, you told three strangers at Quiznos that you're crushing it.
Whatever.
I'm not sweating it.
CAROL: Guys, this is nothing to worry about.
I mean, I know millennials are awful at taking criticism.
No, we're not! But if you take this as an opportunity to get better, criticism can be very helpful.
So you're not at all worried about what one of us might have said about you? Oh, please.
I sat in front of a class of grumpy teenagers for 20 years.
I have heard everything you can say about my personality, my hair, oh, and the time the toilet paper got stuck in my pants and it looked like I had a tail.
I wouldn't be so relaxed.
I've seen these peer evaluations tear intern groups apart.
(CHUCKLES) Those are some of my fondest memories.
Hmm.
Well, I'm excited.
Honest evaluation is a crucial element of growth.
Mm-hmm.
Being excited for evaluation is a crucial element of being a nerd.
(BEEP) Now, our pulmonary edema patient is responding well to the Lasix.
That means we should put her on Dr.
Kutcher? Uh, uh, wh The, uh, uh - Morphine? - Morphine.
Right.
Apologies.
You know, i-if you want a helpful mnemonic for pulmonary edema, I always use L-M-N-O-P: Lasix, morphine, nitro, oxygen, positive-pressure ventilation.
I know.
I just blanked.
(CHUCKLES) Oh, and to remember that, sometimes I think, L, M, N lemon O, P opera.
Lemon opera.
Plus, it paints a picture.
Like, this fat little lemon just belting out an aria.
But she's struggling, because of the edema.
Okay.
Good to know.
You gonna write that down? CALEB: I know I will.
Lemon opera.
(CHUCKLES) Okay, I'm gonna call it there.
It's time for evaluations.
Dr.
Gilani, you're up first.
First? W-What happened to good old alphabetical order? You'd still be first, Dr.
Gilani.
Kidding.
I'm pumped.
Go Lexie! That evaluation was actually pretty painless.
Time for a celebratory slice of pizza.
Well earned.
Although I would like you to pay heed to your colleagues' suggestion that you make more of an effort to connect emotionally with your patients.
Of course.
Will definitely pay heed to that one.
I was actually gonna pay that one the most heed.
Just, like, all the heed.
Dr.
Gilani, forging an emotional bond can feel vulnerable.
But it's often the key to getting through to a patient.
I know.
I'm just not great at the warm and fuzzy stuff.
I can't even watch kissing in movies.
Unless it's less romantic and more, like, hard sexual.
Still, I'm giving you an opportunity to test your skills.
Room 506.
Patient diagnosed with intracranial aneurysm.
Untreated, her prognosis is grim.
Surgery most likely save her life, but to this point, she's refusing.
- Why? - She's afraid.
It's not uncommon, but I think if someone truly forms a connection with her, they'll be able to persuade her.
I-I feel a little weird about the hard sexual thing.
- It's forgotten.
- Great.
All right, hit me with it.
And don't pull any punches, you two.
- I want the real stuff.
- Well, I am happy to report that your peer evaluations were very positive.
You were described as being hardworking, thorough and a strong advocate for your patients.
MAYA: Some would say a relentless, migraine-inducing vigilante.
Most importantly, they all commented on the excellence of your clinical skills.
One doctor described you as having the "smoothest intubation this side of the Mississippi".
Wow.
The west side of the Mississippi? That's the bigger side.
However, there was one piece of constructive criticism.
Of course.
Uh Can't be all cupcakes and rainbows.
Compliments are fun, but criticism that's where the learning happens.
Mm.
It's just that one of your colleagues found you to be a bit, uh, condescending.
Condescending? Wow.
Okay, sure.
I can't tell how you're taking this.
Oh, who, me? Oh, no.
It's great.
It's just condescending.
It just seems sort of out of left field.
A bit random.
Like, where did that come from? Left field? Dr.
Kenney, I'm sure your colleague was simply pointing out that, as a doctor, it's important to be open to others' input and opinions.
Yes.
Of course.
Nothing to get hung up on.
- Great.
- Great.
We're done here.
Yes.
Yes, of course.
Well, thank you both for that fantastic feedback.
- Mm.
- Mostly fantastic feedback.
You know, I mean, a couple quibbles here and there, but yeah.
Pretty good.
Pretty good feedback.
Do you have any pain in your lower thigh or calf? No, just the spot where they sliced me open and sawed my hip joint.
Yeah.
That tends to be an ouchie.
The good news is, you seem to be blood clot-free.
Okay.
Let's, uh, switch him to an oral oxycodone and use the IV for breakthrough pain only.
- Got it.
- Or-or whatever you want.
Dealer's choice.
I mean, I don't want to be "condescending" and tell you what to do.
No, please, tell me what to do.
That's pretty much your job.
Well, at least you appreciate me, Dennis.
You've always been so good to me.
Oh, no, are you dying? I thought you at least had another good year or two.
No.
I-It's this peer evaluation.
Someone called me "condescending".
Can you believe that? I mean, not that I'm bothered by it.
Yeah, you seem real chill.
(EXHALES) It's just, it's just so off.
I mean, it's obviously coming from a place of insecurity, you know? Like, the criticism tells you more about the person who's giving it than the person who's receiving it.
Carol, I get it.
It's hard not to get defensive when you get feedback, but I find it best to focus not on who gave the critique, but what I can do to learn from it.
Nope, I want to know who said it.
Hi, I'm Dr.
Gilani.
I'm gonna be helping out with your case.
I understand you've been diagnosed with an aneurysm but you're refusing surgery? I'd rather wait and see how things go.
Right.
I think they might go bad? Well, surgery can go bad.
They said they'd have to open up my skull.
True.
True, true, true, true.
I guess what I really want to know is how you doing? Excuse me? Like, emotionally.
I mean, not great.
I'm in a hospital.
Of course.
Look, Miss Saifi.
Saifi.
Are you Pakistani? Yeah.
No way.
Me, too.
Straight talk? What you have isn't getting better on its own.
Do the surgery.
That's coming from me, not one of these emotionally distant doctors.
What do you say? I'll think about it.
You'll think about it! Great.
Emotional connection for the win.
Just grabbing some gauze.
Secrets, secrets.
She was just saying that you're the best nurse, which I already know.
Why, you little sweetie.
(LAUGHS) You know what? Girl, I'm-a get you a lollipop.
- (LAUGHTER) - Oh.
You all seem in good spirits.
No criticism? Nothing too harsh? No one betrayed by a close colleague? (LAUGHS) It was mostly positive.
Although, one comment was pretty damning.
- CAROL: Really? - CALEB: Yeah.
Someone said I could be more precise when administering an endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography.
Oh, wow.
Really? That's tough.
Very personal.
Yeah, but I needed to hear it.
Dr.
Frost told me I needed to do a better job connecting with patients, so what I did was I connected with a patient.
Probably saved her life.
It's a big deal.
I didn't get any criticism.
Obvi.
Tens across the board.
I mean, you all called me arrogant, but we knew that going in.
Great.
You're all taking it great.
(CHUCKLES) Look at that.
It's awesome.
Carol, are you okay? Totally.
I'm wonderful.
Or at least I was, until I found out that one of you Judases called me "condescending".
Was it you, Daniel? Hmm? Trying to get a leg up? Disgusting! Or was it my good bud Caleb? I'm sure the person was just trying to be help Oh! There she is.
There she is.
Carol, it wasn't me.
It wasn't me.
(GASPS) - Hey, have you seen Carol this morning? - No, but I haven't seen Daniel either, sog maybe she's killed him and gone on the lam.
(LAUGHS) - Ah.
That's too bad.
- Yeah.
We thought Carol murdered you.
Guys, come on.
Are we still on this "condescending" thing? It was peer evaluations.
The point is to evaluate each other.
It wasn't even a harsh criticism.
There's no way she's still pissed.
Morning, campers.
Somebody's got treats.
- See? Everything's fine.
- Wha Oh, you mean about yesterday? That is water under the bridge.
Anyway, I stopped off at my favorite bakery on my way to work.
They make the best chocolate chip cookies.
So, Lexie, chocolate chip cookie for you.
Chocolate chip cookie for you.
- Ooh - And, Daniel, oatmeal cookie for you.
I mean, I could not pass up the opportunity to pick up some of their delicious, award-winning chocolate chip cookies.
They also make oatmeal.
Uh, Carol, not to call you out, but are you attempting to be mean to Daniel by giving him a cookie? This is actually pretty amazing.
Give that back! There it is.
Carol, I don't understand why you're so mad.
All I did was give some honest feedback.
You really think I'm condescending? Yeah.
Sometimes it seems like you think you know so much more than us.
But we're not your students, we're your peers.
Do you two feel this way? Nope, you're not pulling us into this.
You know what really ticks me off? I could have said all kinds of stuff about you, but I didn't.
- I held back.
- Oh, really? I'd love to hear it.
Okay, fine then.
I think that you are cocky and full of yourself.
And overconfident.
Those are all synonyms for the same thing.
And I know that.
You also think you're better than us, and you're not.
If anything, your confidence makes you more likely to miss something important.
And it might help your focus if you spent less time looking in the mirror.
But the next time you do, you might want to notice that you are dangerously close to putting on the freshman five.
Are you calling me doughy? Well, it's not just the cookies.
So how we doing? Ready to schedule that surgery? Actually, I'm not doing it.
What? But you said that That I would think about it.
And I did, and I'm saying I don't want it.
But So - So you'll get the surgery.
- No! Do you know how many people die in surgery? I don't want it.
My decision is final.
Dr.
Gilani, how goes it with Miss Saifi? I gave surgery a heads-up, and they seemed pretty amped to get in there.
Almost too amped.
Those boys like to cut.
I talked to her again, and she won't budge.
Well, that's disappointing.
Were you able to develop any sort of personal connection? Are you kidding? We were the most connected.
We both hate cricket, which you wouldn't get.
But for Pakistani girls, it's a big deal.
Dr.
Gilani, I understand warm and fuzzy stuff makes you uncomfortable, but if you want to break through to a resistant patient, you have to get warm, and you have to get fuzzy.
Now, I want you to try it again.
And this time, get vulnerable.
Okay, fine.
Don't tell surgery to put away their knives just yet.
Ah, Dr.
Gilani, surgery never puts away their knives.
Those boys are butchers.
Room 416, Eileen Herndon.
653 milliliters.
I'm really sorry you got stuck measuring intake with me.
I hope you're not feeling crowded by my ample girth.
Oh, boy.
No, no, it's fine.
You were clearly trying to hurt my feelings.
Well, mission accomplished.
You started it.
And by the way, you're measuring the bags wrong.
See, that's condescending.
Is it condescending, or is it true, and you don't like it? It's false and I hate it.
I'm actually doing it right.
No, you're taking your measurements from the top of the meniscus.
And as any tenth grade chemistry student knows, you take your measurements from the bottom of the meniscus.
I'm just trying to teach you something here.
Well, you're not my teacher.
Well, I should me, 'cause maybe you'd learn something.
- Let me just show you how - No, no.
- I can do it.
No, no.
- I just want to show you Timmy drew a picture of me.
(CHUCKLES) (GROANS) Oh, great.
Look, I already told both of you my decision.
Listen, I don't think you understand how important your case is to me.
When I was a kid, it was a week before my Little Mermaid birthday party, and my grandma had some pain in her chest.
The doctors wanted to put in a stent, but the procedure was invasive, and she was scared.
My family tried everything to convince her to do it.
She refused surgery, and a week later she passed away.
She never made it to my birthday.
I hear you.
I want to get better, too, but I'm still really scared.
I know.
I know it's scary.
But people love you, and if you do this, you can go on to live a full, healthy life.
What do you say? Okay.
I'll do it.
LEXIE: Okay.
I'll go talk to surgery, and we'll get back to you soon.
(EXHALES) Wow.
That was simply incredible, Dr.
Gilani.
I'm sure your grandmother was watching over you with pride.
Oh, no, please.
None of that was true.
(LAUGHING) Both my grandmas are very much alive.
The stent? The birthday? The Little Mermaid? I think you're onto something with this emotional stuff.
Anyway, I'm gonna go eat a wrap.
Catch you later.
Usually, it's one of the nurses that collects my urine.
Yeah, well, the nurses sometimes get mad when one of the doctors is a little baby and sprays them with a bag of saline.
So then we have to do their work.
Oh, Carol, don't call yourself a baby.
You're an extremely grown woman.
Hmm.
Feeling a little light-headed.
Mel, are you feeling dizzy? CAROL: Whoa, his blood pressure is dropping.
He has a history of polymyalgia rheumatica.
If he's on chronic steroids, it could cause an adrenal insufficiency.
His potassium pre-op was a little high, and his sodium's off, too.
This could be an adrenal crisis.
Oh, my God, that's a good call, Daniel.
Bolus the bag.
I'm gonna push 100 milligrams of hydrocortisone.
Okay, Mr.
Woods, you're gonna be fine.
All right? Okay, I'll admit it.
It was a pretty nice catch on the potassium.
Well, you were the one who noticed the adrenal insufficiency, so (SIGHS) You know we actually make a pretty good team.
Maybe I agree.
(SCOFFS) Really? And I have to say, you have a funny way of showing it.
Carol, I wasn't trying to attack you, it's just, I know that you have a lot more life experience than I do, but sometimes, when you talk down to me, it feels like you don't think I have anything to offer.
And it bothers me because I guess (MUMBLES): I respect you.
Excuse me? (MUMBLES): I respect you.
Daniel, I can't hear I respect you.
Okay? And when you criticize how I do things, it makes me feel like you don't respect me.
So you respect me? (SCOFFS) Okay, don't be too flattered.
No, it's just I honestly didn't think you cared what I thought.
Well, of course I do.
I mean, you're smart, you know your stuff.
You've got the smoothest intubation this side of the Mississippi.
(GASPS) Daniel, it was you! Oh Look, I-I don't mean to talk down to you.
I-It's just, if I correct you or make a suggestion, it's probably because that's how I always treated my best students.
It's how a teacher thinks.
When you see someone who has as much potential as you do, you just want to help them be their best.
But you're absolutely right, you're not my student.
You are my peer.
Oh, and I will try to remember that.
- Thank you.
- Yeah.
- I do have one additional critique for you.
- (SIGHS) I'm not sure you're quite as good at taking criticism as you thought.
Yeah, I did not handle that great.
I guess I might be a millennial.
That's not the takeaway, Carol.
Mm.
I don't know.
I have a pair of high-waisted jeans.
It doesn't count if you bought them in the '70s.
I got you a chocolate chip cookie.
Aw.
You're so much better at being nice than you are at being mean.
Yeah.
Hey, Carol, y-you didn't happen to, uh A snickerdoodle? But how did you know? LEXIE: I'll be here when you wake up.
Good work, Dr.
Gilani.
Although next time, please try to draw from a more sincere emotional Ooh! Is that a snickerdoodle? My favorite.
You don't have any more, do you? Sorry, just the one.
(CHUCKLES) Mm, would you smell that cinnamon.
I remember that sweet aroma.
My father used to make a batch of snickerdoodles every Sunday morning.
We'd eat them in the back seat of our Buick on the way home from mass.
And the old bear, he'd always take the smallest one.
That's, of course, before we lost him.
Oh, wow.
(EXHALES) Dr.
Frost, uh, here.
- Y-You take the cookie.
- I'm sorry.
Uh, I made that up.
And it's an example of the wrong thing to do.