The Doctor (1991)
William Hurt stars in the film “The Doctor” that was produced in 1991 as Jack McKee, a renowned surgeon in a well-established hospital. It begins with a team of surgeons led by Dr. McKee carrying an operation on a patient who had jumped several floors to the ground. This exercise is undertaken with less seriousness, as shown by the kind of conversations held during the operation. It is also noted that there is some music accompanied in the theatre. Jack then leaves for his home. Surprisingly, his son calls him Dr. McKee, not dad. A couple attends a particular function, after which Anne, his wife, notices Jack is coughing blood and raises her worries. Dr. McKee goes for a biopsy and is found to have a growth on his throat. He is now diagnosed with throat cancer and is now a patient. His first experience with hospital personnel displeases him. He isn’t given forms to fill for the thirty minutes he was waiting to be attended to, no privacy is offered to him, and he certainly doesn’t like his doctor. Many worse encounters as a patient make him realize what a terrible doctor he has been. He didn’t care for the lives of his patients. His business as a surgeon was to cut through. Time spent with his family was also minimal, such that his son refers to him as a doctor. He needed to transform, and his cancer served as an ideal catalyst for this process. His relationship with June, a fellow cancer patient, opens his eyes. He becomes the best doctor after his cancer operation and works in a way that the feelings of his patients are considered first. He is determined to transform the whole medical profession.
In this film, healthcare providers are portrayed as people full of arrogance and carelessness. The way Jack dealt with his patients and how he was treated as a patient is actual proof of this. He would make fun of some of his patients on solemn occasions. A good example is a lady with a scar on her chest. Jack’s response to her husband’s worries is found not befitting for the healthcare profession. They also live a lavish life with much success but fail to attend to the needs of their families. Jack was not close to his wife and son. Work was most important, such that he was still called a doctor while in his own house.
When Dr. McKee visited the hospital as a patient for the first time, he thinks he would be treated with much respect. He was well known in that place, having served as a senior surgeon for eleven years. His encounters are, however, directly opposed to what he expected. The staff who knew him for long acted as if they were meeting him for the first time. Little concern was offered to him. They went as far as making him share a room with other patients, while he thought he was to be given a unique room. His annoying character did not please his doctor. His friends become the other patients he was close to. He was then having a test of what a patient experienced in his hands as a doctor.
The most vital lesson expressed in this film is the importance of a good relation in every part we find ourselves. Healthcare providers are entrusted with the lives of the numerous patients that go through their hands. The way Jack related to his juniors and his patients before experiencing it as a patient was below the expected. He became a better doctor after being a cancer patient and undergoing the harsh treatment he used to offer to his patients. Family is also important. We should not put our profession before our family. If Jack were close to his family, his wife would have noticed earlier that he was unwell, and probably things would have been better.