Grey’s Anatomy is a dramaticized show written by Shonda Rhimes about doctors and their everyday lives in the hospital. Although there are many departments in a hospital, this particular show’s main focus is the surgical wing of the building. On the surgical floor of a hospital, there are several things happening at once, especially with the many branches of surgery. It is one person’s responsibility to maintain this floor and what goes on in it, and that person is known to be the chief of surgery. In this show, the chief of surgery’s name was Derek Shepherd. Shepherd was previously Chief of the Neurology Department, then later on was given the position of Chief of Surgery at the Grey-Sloan Memorial Hospital (Grey’s Anatomy). On his final episode of Grey’s Anatomy, Shepherd was on his way to the airport to catch a flight he was late for. To make it in time, a detour was taken, where there was no service and not many people in sight. While Derek was driving in a rush, a seventeen year old boy who had stolen his dad’s car, was speeding and crashed into another car off the road, right in front of Derek. Luckily, Derek was not harmed in this accident, and he was able to keep the people involved stable until help was on the way. After help came, Derek was on his way back home, until he noticed his phone was misplaced in the car and had bent down to reach for it. As he looked up from getting his phone, a semi truck struck his car, leaving him in critical condition (Grey’s Anatomy). It may be a “Beautiful day to save lives,” but Derek’s beautiful life was about to end.
Following Derek’s accident, he was taken to a hospital that was not as up to date as the one he works at. Another thing that differs between the two hospitals is that the one Derek was taken to was not a trauma center, meaning they specialize in practiced cases, rather that unexpected emergent cases (What is a Trauma Center?). When Derek was introduced to the doctors as “John Doe,” there was lots of bickering between the doctors to find out what was wrong with him and what procedure should be followed first. A resident on the team of doctors noticed that there was access bleeding coming from his head and they should follow through with a head CT, which is a computed tomography that shows the activity going on inside the head, things that cannot be seen from the outside (Computed Tomography). Derek is narrating the episode as if he is giving instructions to the doctors, but in reality he is conscious with no vocal ability. He agrees with the resident, but the arrogant, attending doctor argues that the CT would be a cause of lost time because of the bleeding in Derek’s internal organs, so he insisted on rushing to the operating room and stop the bleeding. In reality, the procedure to get a head CT first is very accurate because of how crucial the accident was (What Kind of Tests). With the obvious bleeding coming from Derek’s head, the right move would have been to get a CT and see the occurring brain activity. In the battle between the internal organs and the brain injury, the brain injury would have been necessary because the brain is the most important part of our bodies due to the many functions it controls (Brain Anatomy). If the brain activity is neglected in an accident, the patient can potentially result in a matter of brain death, where their brain no longer has function, but other organs such as the heart or liver may have function (Understanding Brain Death). Due to the wrongful guide of misdirections, Derek’s life terminated with the results of being brain dead, all because of a doctor who believed he was right and was too stubborn to listen to a resident.
This concept relates to what we have been learning in class because it is a form of biology that has different aspects to save a person’s life. In a hospital, the most common biology used is anatomy, which is the study of organisms and the dissection of their bodies (Medterms). The term “biology” can have many definitions, but in this case, biology is known as the world around us and how we adapt to it. In this episode, the doctors had to adapt to the mistakes that were made in order to attempt to save Derek’s life. Although that failed, it shows that biology is used in everyday life whether we know it or not. Below in figure 1 is a depiction of a blunt force trauma injury. This is pictured by a head CT and the activity that is not easily visible is shown through this scan.
Figure 1. “Blunt trauma” Wikiwand. https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Blunt_trauma
Works Cited
“Brain Anatomy” Princeton Brain, Spine, and Sports Medicine. https://www.princetonbrainandspine.com/resources/learning-center/brain-anatomy/
Calderwood, Heather. “The Death of Derek Shepherd in Grey’s Anatomy” HM Insights. 24 September, 2015. The-death-of-dr-derek-shepherd-in-greys-anatomy-would-meredith-have-a-claim-for-medical-negligence-under-scots-law
“Computed Tomography Scan of the Brain” Health Conditions and Diseases. https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/treatment-tests-and-therapies/computed-tomography-ct-or-cat-scan-of-the-brain
“Grey’s Anatomy” American Broadcasting Company. 25 March 2005.
“Medical Definition of Anatomy” Medicinenet. https://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=2237
Rhodes, Senta. “What Kind of Tests Might be Ordered After an Accident?” Grimes Teich Anderson LLP Injury and Disability Lawyers. 26 October 2017. https://www.injurylaw-carolinas.com/kind-tests-might-ordered-accident/
Trauma J. “Is the Use of Pan-computed Tomography for Blunt Trauma Justified? A Prospective Evaluation” NCBI. October 2009. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19820586
“Understanding Brain Death” Donate Life. http://www.donorrecovery.org/learn/understanding-brain-death/
“What is a Trauma Center? ER vs. Trauma Center” Trauma and Emergency Medicine. 26 May 2016. https://share.upmc.com/2016/05/what-is-a-trauma-center
