Private Practice September 26, 2007 |
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Description: The September 26 premiere is Shonda Rhimes's "In Which We Meet Addison, a Nice Girl from Somewhere Else" (14.2 million viewers). One major plotline includes scenes in which uber-OB Addison gets used to the idea that wide-eyed young Dell might actually be somewhat useful in her practice, in an eager "guy Friday" kind of way. The episode also features Addison mocking the very idea of midwifery in the same way a grade school student might--except, of course, that since she's supposedly one of the greatest neonatal surgeons in the world, we're meant to assume that bemused contempt for midwives would probably be the attitude of any true childbirth expert. Dell asks Addison if she needs help with the delivery. Addison: I'm good. Dell (suddenly all assertive): You don't take me seriously. ... You think I'm some dumb surfer boy, you think I'm eye candy. You have no respect for me or my midwifery skills. Addison (struggling not to laugh): I have total respect for you and your...midwifery? skills. Is that even a word--midwifery? Dell (petulantly): It's a word. (Pause.) It's definitely a word! He walks off, impotent. Addison sighs at the Southland nuts surrounding her, and we're supposed to think it's funny where the high and mighty surgeon finds herself. But although the show is kind of poking fun at her, it's plainly laughing at Dell, and his midwifery. Even accounting for Addison's standard-issue arrogance, which the show celebrates by pretending to condemn, this is a little hard to believe. Even an elite OB / neonatal surgeon would probably have heard the word midwifery. And no, there's no hint that Addison really knows all about midwifery and is just choosing to mock Dell to underline her contempt. Viewers will get that she really doesn't know about it because it is basically irrelevant to serious maternal-child health endeavors. Later, in a nearby hospital, we see Addison walking by Lucy's stretcher and ordering a Lidocaine drip--to no one who would actually do it, since only Pete and the paramedics seem to be present. This is common on such shows: physicians issue commands to the ether, and some invisible being (guess who) complies--thereby glorifying the physicians, as authoritative experts, without showing who actually does the work or how challenging it may be. As Lucy is wheeled upstairs with her baby, her Dad thanks Addison, though Pete and Dell are now standing nearby. They are all relieved. Dell, somewhat giddy, observes: "Well, that was...pretty cool." He starts to exit. Addison calls after him: "Dell. Good work in there." This pat on the head will not suffice. Aside from Dell, there is essentially no nursing involvement in any of the care on this show. The briefly glimpsed wallpaper nurse never reappears. Addison and Pete handle everything themselves, with Dell as occasional gofer and hand-holder. It is an image of an RN with virtually no knowledge of health care, but who acts as an eager helper to the physicians who do know and make all key decisions. The scene in which Lucy passes out presents Dell as ignorant of what might be happening and marginally functional in a pressure situation. When the ambulance comes, he's ignorant about the sterile field. Granted, anyone not directly involved in what Addison is doing at that point might not know the patient's status. But most viewers will likely note the contrast of the commanding expert Addison and the wide-eyed, unskilled helper Dell. Addison's ignorance of midwives is especially striking since midwives have doubtless delivered many more babies in the history of the world than physicians have. And even the most heedless OB/GYN would probably know that midwifery was a word. Suggesting otherwise clearly underlines the sense that midwifery is a zany left coast thing. Dell's comment that he wants to "get in" on the birth also suggests that midwife training is some ad hoc thing you might be able to squeeze in at your receptionist job, rather than a serious, structured training program leading to a master of science degree. Thus, the fact that Dell ultimately manages to earn Addison's little blessing does nothing for nursing or midwives, because Dell is presented as doing "good work" as a lay person. He knows virtually nothing about health care. 
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