The Waiting Room

Hi everybody.

Happy Tuesday!

In our Journalism class we were given an assignment to watch the documentary The Waiting Room (about the American health system, focusing on one specific waiting room at an Oakland, California hospital) and to write a little blog about it. So here it is, my doc-blog.

Firstly, I’d like to point out the irony in my day. I went to the doc with a friend and on the way home a not-so-good driver cut over three lanes and cut me off. BANG – accident! No one was badly hurt and MPI told me I was 100% NOT at fault, which is good, but my back and shoulders are killing me and mostly I’m just not impressed. She didn’t even ask if we were okay or apologize for just cutting over. The moral of the story is: don’t do school work on the weekend, especially if you have travel for it.

Moving on, this would not have been a documentary that I would have chosen to see on my own. I won’t get too much into it, but the thought of sitting in a waiting room be it at the doctor’s, dentist’s, or hospital, literally makes me feel like I’m crawling with germs. I just hate (yes, hate) the thought. But I feel like I’ve broken down walls after watching this doc (even though I didn’t watch any parts that had anything to do with needles, blood, or anything like that).

Comparing the American and Canadian health systems is not difficult. There are a lot of differences that lead me to believe I’m a very lucky girl to live in Canada and have the safety and protection of my health care. The most evident difference is America having both private and public hospitals. Private hospitals down there will refuse people because they’re not “members” – as we saw happen to the guy with a testicular tumor. This would never happen in Canada; everyone gets treated here (publications).

Secondly, another obvious is the insurance part. In America people have to have decent enough jobs to be approved for insurance and have health care and benefits. Here in Canada, we all have health care paid for through our taxes and varying amounts of benefits that can be purchased or provided through our jobs.

Third, Canada does unfortunately have a longer wait time to see a specialist or have a non-emergency procedure done when compared to states (NBER). This was a surprising finding for me, but I guess I’m just used to it. This leaves me wondering what happened to the man with a testicular tumor. Obviously, he left the hospital without having the surgery he needed, so when did he get in to have that done? It would have been interesting to see what happened to him a little while after even if only for this reason.

Both American and Canadian health care work on a priority system, not a first come, first serve basis like one patient in the doc thought – or hoped for. Public American health care and Canadian health care both have a lot patients every day. This is evident by the amount of patients always waiting to get in to see a doctor. As The Waiting Room doc sites states, “24 hours. 241 patients. One stretched ER.” Indeed it was!

Overall, it was an alright doc. I enjoyed the internal stories that were happening and finding out about the ‘characters’ lives and stories. I feel like the overall story was told pretty well by the people they followed. It was sad to watch and learn about, but that’s the point. It’s a sad reality. Everyone was showing real emotions – worry, happiness, and relief – and it was refreshing to see those emotions when I’m used to seeing scripted ones.

I felt the doc was fair without really having to try to be fair. It was just showing the way some people live in the states. As a Canadian, I really don’t understand how people can live like that, but it’s just the way it is, I suppose. Even though I also have traveller’s insurance, I still worry about getting hurt every time I travel to the state; I just couldn’t imagine living like that every day.

The shooting was good, I thought. The cameras were right in the thick of everything and go some really good shots of people just living out their waiting room experience. I was especially moved by the shots of the young boy who died. I’m happy that nothing was shown that would identify him because we literally saw someone die on screen (not that it makes it less real). So sad and moving – the camera people did a really good job capturing that moment.

The editing I thought was only okay. There was a lot going on and they definitely followed people well making sure we saw the beginning, middle, and end of most characters, but there were a few people that at the end of the doc I was wondering what happened to them. I wondered what happened to the guy who was shot and his legs were going numb, and what happened to the man who was angry at the world because of his dialysis, and why was there a woman who came in for a sandwich after her dialysis. Some of the editing didn’t make sense to me. Why include those people when there’s no time to finish their story?

All in all, I felt the filmmaker spoke to the most compelling people he could have. As I mentioned previously I didn’t really understand why some people were kept in the doc, but the people who’s story were seen through to the end were quite captivating. I felt awful for the parents of the young girl with strep throat. Of course I wondered how it got to the point that they had to go to the hospital for it, but either way I could feel the fear they felt when they didn’t know what was going on. I was almost in tears when the young boy died from a gunshot wound. I couldn’t imagine how sad and lost his family and friends would feel after that happened. I also liked the people who were chosen for this doc because nothing was really outright said. All of them showed us that they were scared about the cost of their visits and treatments, but no one came out and said much about it.

Music was really only played in the beginning and end of the doc, but it was effective. I loved the introduction. I loved how they showed us the hustle and bustle of the waiting room before jumping into anyone’s specific story. I loved the nurse who was taking all of the patients’ blood pressure and temperature while they waited. She was hilarious especially at the end when she was telling off this one guy for swearing.

I liked The Waiting Room. I've been thinking about it a lot in the last couple days and have been thinking about a lot of my time that was spent in a waiting room... there's been a lot of nights and days where all I saw were the insides of ugly white walls and smelled cleaning product and blood. It's not fun, but seeing what the experience is like for other people really makes me appreciate all the hospital staff.

When my grandpa was sick I went to the Health Science Centre every day after work. Every day I walked the same hallway and walked passed the Emergency waiting room. I never gave it a second thought, but maybe today I would knowing just how many people, stories, and lives are changed in that one white walled room.

Stay warm, friends.

 M