Lessons learned from “The Pitt”

Viewers and medical professionals alike are raving about HBO Max’s “The Pitt,” an emergency department drama that takes place at Pittsburgh Medical Trauma Center, aka the Pitt. With each episode representing one hour of a 15-hour shift, the show features attending physicians, residents, nurses, interns, medical students, social workers, surgeons, and administrators.

Health care professionals have praised the series for its accuracy and authenticity in depicting the work of health care professionals and the harsh realities they face on a daily basis. But even those of us who don’t work in the medical profession can glean valuable lessons from this cultural phenomenon. Here are a few universal truths, more or less, from the first season:

We all have things to learn from each other. When a medical student is asked by the attending physician why he ordered a particular test for a patient, he sheepishly admits that he did it because the nurse suggested it. In reply, the attending says, “Good. Listen to the nurses. They usually know what they’re talking about.”

Organization and prioritization are essential. When the team gets word of a mass shooting at a music festival, there’s an emergency plan already in place to deal with the overwhelming influx of gravely wounded victims. Rooms and supplies are repurposed, and staff are deployed to the ambulance bay to triage (prioritize) patients.

You can skip bathroom breaks and still not please everyone. Sometimes you just have to take a break. In one nerve-wracking episode, the main character, attending physician Dr. Michael Robinavitch (Dr. Robby), keeps getting diverted on his way to the bathroom by one crisis after another. Even when he finally gets to take his bathroom break, a coworker barges in and exclaims, “I’ve been looking for you everywhere!”

Bad things happen, even when you do everything right. In an early episode, a medical student struggles to cope when he loses a patient despite doing everything by the book. It’s possible to make no mistakes and still not succeed; you simply can’t control everything. This is painfully true in medicine, but it applies to the rest of us as well.

Mentorship is critical. Refreshingly, "The Pitt" portrays young professionals as competent and capable of growth and frames positive mentorship as a necessity, not a luxury. Not only do the interns and medical students learn from the doctors, but when Dr. Robby has his emotional break, it’s a mild-mannered, accident-prone med student who encourages him to return to the ER.

Work will get by without you. Just before the ED is unexpectedly swarmed with hundreds of critically wounded shooting victims, one of the senior residents is given permission to go home to deal with a serious personal matter. Her boss even tells her to turn off her phone. As the victims pour into the ER and it’s all hands on deck, we expect Dr. Collins to come to the rescue, but she never does. Surprisingly, the team finds a way to save lives without her.

Have confidence in your own expertise. In the chaos of the mass casualty event, night shift attending physician and military veteran Dr. Jack Abbot proposes performing a procedure used by battlefield medics. An experienced surgeon tells him he’s crazy and that he’ll kill the patient. But Dr. Abbot has the unique experience and skillset needed in that particular situation and ultimately saves the patient’s life.

When it’s time for everyone to step up, it’s time for EVERYONE to STEP UP. We’ve mentioned the mass casualty event three times already. Do we really need to explain this?

Sometimes you need to call in the mental health expert. As we’ve said, there is no health without mental health, and this series doesn’t shy away from highlighting that connection. Patients struggling with grief, substance abuse, schizophrenia, and dementia are all part of a day’s work, not to mention the emotional scars carried by members of the staff. Fortunately, the hospital’s social worker is a consistent presence.

Despite its noble purpose, health care is a business. The chief medical officer and Dr. Robby have frequent conversations that highlight the business realities of health care, such as patient satisfaction scores, staffing shortages, and a potential buyout of the hospital.

People can surprise you. Dr. Trinity Santos is a new intern whose abrasiveness and insensitivity, tend to rub people the wrong way. However, in the last episode, we catch a glimpse of a well-hidden generous side.

Even those who seem to have everything under control reach a breaking point. Charge nurse Dana Evans is respected by her colleagues and keeps the ED running like a well-oiled machine. But after a violent altercation with an angry patient, Dana silently considers quitting.

There’s power in collaboration. The show highlights moments when experienced professionals admit their limitations and seek help from others, reinforcing the lesson that humility and teamwork are vital in complex situations.

Everyone needs connection. The series ends as it began with one of the doctors standing on the hospital’s rooftop overwhelmed by grief and exhaustion. Dr. Abbot attempts to talk Robby down from the ledge, offering words meant to reassure him about his value and purpose. Instead, what truly helps Robby is Abbot’s presence—demonstrating that he is not alone in his suffering and that others understand what he is going through.

“The Pitt” ultimately demonstrates that life, like medicine, is unpredictable, imperfect, and often unfair. But if we work together, show empathy, learn from others, and do our best with what we have, we can make a difference.