The Pitt Recap: Lessons Learned

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There’s a really touching moment near the beginning of the show where Robby is waiting with the ambulances, which have been rerouted from Westbridge due to that strange ‘Code Black’ situation we heard about last week. He’s surrounded by Santos, Whitaker, and Javadi – the three newest doctors from last season. I admit it, I’m a bit of a softie, but seeing them all together with Robby just feels good. Even if Santos is still complaining about Dr. Al-Hashimi, it’s a sweet scene! They haven’t changed dramatically, but you can see subtle differences – they seem more confident and comfortable with each other, and Whitaker’s still wearing the same scrubs from earlier – showing how much they’ve grown after ten months at the hospital. I’m just really proud of all of them, even Santos. Don’t judge me for enjoying it!

Let’s not dwell on Santos’ struggles too much right now – she’s clearly having a difficult time. It’s becoming obvious that her defensive and sometimes harsh reactions are how she deals with stress. She’s complaining to everyone – even her boss – about Dr. Al-Hashimi because Dr. Al just reminded her about incomplete charting and hinted that falling behind could mean repeating her residency year. This warning really throws Santos off her game for the rest of the hour.

There’s a clear dynamic at play when Mel and a patient named Phylicia come in with a concerning cough, low oxygen, and fever – despite testing negative for common viruses. Mel consistently has to guide her colleague, Santos, through the basic steps of evaluating Phylicia, even prompting her to consider potential causes after a chest X-ray suggests aspiration pneumonia. It turns out Phylicia’s condition is linked to an eating disorder, revealed by severe enamel erosion, and Santos finally engages once the diagnosis is clear. Both doctors are then kind and supportive when Phylicia admits to self-induced vomiting and asks for help. Afterwards, Santos acknowledges Mel’s skill in noticing what she herself missed. Mel, known for her kindness, shares that she once studied eating disorders, understanding the underdiagnosis within the Black community due to her own past concerns. Despite this, and after Mel asks about a patient hitting on her earlier, Santos dismisses Mel’s attempts at connection, claiming she’s too busy with paperwork. Mel empathizes, remembering the difficulty of her second year, but Santos rebuffs her offer to talk, though it’s clear she secretly appreciated the support.

She’s really energetic and playfully teasing with Whitaker, who seems to be her only true friend at PTMC right now (besides maybe Garcia, but they haven’t shared details about their relationship yet!). It’s too bad, because Whitaker was actually having a great day. Santos did reveal to Javadi that he’s been secretly spending time with Amy, the widow from last season, but overall, things were going well for him.

A patient named Mr. Samba, transferred from Westbridge with chest pain, was initially examined by Santos, who didn’t find immediate signs of a serious heart attack on the EKG. However, Dr. Whitaker reviewed the results and suspected a heart attack on the back side of the heart, so he asked Robby to re-run the test. When no one else followed through, Whitaker did the test himself and discovered Mr. Samba was, in fact, having a major heart attack. Mr. Samba lost consciousness just as the new results came in, but thanks to Whitaker’s quick actions, along with help from Ogilvie, Nurse Jesse, and Robby, he was saved. Dr. Robby was impressed and gave Whitaker a quick fistbump as recognition. Ogilvie didn’t receive any praise, which was exactly as it should be.

Santos is surprised when Whitaker updates her on Mr. Samba, as this information hadn’t appeared on her monitor. When Whitaker casually mentions that doctors often overlook such signs, Santos points out he didn’t, and her frustration grows. After he attributes it to luck, she angrily calls him a name and walks away. He understandably thinks he’s upset her, but it’s clear she’s actually venting her stress on him. She’s already missed crucial details in two patient cases – Mr. Samba’s heart attack and Phylicia’s eating disorder – because she’s overwhelmed with her responsibilities and fear of failure. It’s only 10 a.m., and the pressure is already getting to her.

Like Whitaker, Javadi, the third young doctor in the group, has a moment to shine. It’s revealed she’s the well-known Dr. J, the woman who previously asked Langdon for help with a superglued eyelid. She’s become popular online, offering both medical advice and workplace tips – Langdon would definitely enjoy her video on handling difficult coworkers. When Langdon finally asks her to fix Willow’s eyelid, he doesn’t directly tease her about her online presence, but it’s clear he’ll be sharing the story with others in the ER. It’s going to be common knowledge soon! Javadi doesn’t seem to mind the attention, proudly mentioning her large number of followers, and she quickly solves Willow’s problem by completely trimming her eyelashes – something the earlier version of Javadi would never have done.

This season, Dr. Javadi seems very sure of her diagnoses, perhaps overly so. She’s now leading the case of Jackson Davis, a law student who was stunned with a taser, trying to understand what caused his agitation. When Jackson’s sister, Jada, arrives, she’s baffled by Dr. Javadi’s explanation of how her brother was found. Jada insists this doesn’t sound like her brother at all, describing him as kind, caring, and dedicated to helping others through his legal studies, and in a good relationship. Jackson’s CT scan comes back normal, and Dr. Javadi suggests a spinal tap to test for encephalitis, but it’s clear she already suspects something else is going on.

Despite the unusual circumstances, she follows procedure and, with Dr. Al, performs the standard neurological check. However, she’s already contacted Dr. Jefferson, a psychiatrist, for his opinion. He’s frustrated to learn he’s being consulted about a sedated patient, but she doesn’t seem concerned by his objections. It appears Javadi suspects a psychological cause and is simply eager to get a diagnosis for Jackson.

Javadi has rightfully earned her confidence. Ogilvie, a new medical fellow at PTMC, hasn’t quite earned the same level of assurance, and his attempts to appear all-knowing are quickly challenged during this hour.

A new patient arrives at Westbridge: 23-year-old Vince, who fell ten feet through a window while filming a TikTok video doing parkour. It’s a frustrating situation, to say the least. He’s unconscious, but thankfully, doctors Robby, McKay, Ogilvie, and Joy find no broken bones or brain injuries. He does have a concussion and significant cuts from glass in his legs that need cleaning. During the treatment, Joy gets cut herself and has to undergo testing for infections like hepatitis or HIV. Ogilvie, who has been trying to impress Robby and McKay, can’t help but smirk at this—he’s glad to see Joy temporarily sidelined.

Shortly after that, Ogilvie complained to Whitaker, insisting he should be the one to drain Louie’s infected tooth. He pointed out his experience with more complex procedures like inserting chest tubes and intubating patients. He was clearly annoyed when Whitaker suggested he simply observe the first time, which honestly seems like good advice for almost any medical procedure. This season of The Pitt has definitely taught me to always check a doctor’s credentials beforehand. I definitely don’t want any overconfident, inexperienced medical students practicing on me!

Things went south fast with Vince. His partner, Tanya, noticed a lot of blood coming from his back, and when McKay, Robby, and Ogilvie turned him over, they saw a pretty serious wound. It looked like moving him for a CT scan might have dislodged whatever was stopping the bleeding. Ogilvie, without thinking, rushed to the wound and started trying to pull out a piece of glass before anyone could stop him. Turns out, it wasn’t just a little shard – it was actually plugging the vessel, and when he pulled it out, blood started pouring everywhere. It was a really bad move, and Garcia, rushing in to help, immediately called it an amateur mistake. Ogilvie admitted he messed up, and Garcia firmly told him to let the experienced people handle things. He was clearly shaken, even when Robby calmly explained that you never remove anything stuck in a wound in the ER. Hopefully, he’ll learn from this and finally stop acting like he knows everything!

Discharge Papers

The episode concludes with a tense moment involving Debbie, a patient who first came in with a foot infection. She returned because the redness had spread beyond the area Dr. Langdon asked her to monitor. Now, the redness has reached halfway up her leg, and it could be a serious infection like MRSA, requiring immediate emergency room care.

Mohan is frustrated to learn her patient, Orlando, isn’t taking his full dose of insulin because he can’t afford it. Despite working multiple jobs, Orlando and his wife don’t receive health insurance through their employers, and their income is too high to qualify for Medicaid. As Noelle explains, they’re caught in a difficult situation – earning too much to get assistance, but not enough to comfortably cover healthcare costs, and Orlando’s life is at risk because of it.

McKay gets a date with Brian, the guy with the injured foot, after a rather unpleasant medical task: she has to manually realign Mr. Montrose’s broken tailbone – which, yes, involves inserting her finger. The show, The Pitt, doesn’t shy away from showing it! Regardless, McKay should definitely go on that date, but wash her hands thoroughly first.

Dr. Jefferson seems to understand Robby very well. He checked in on Robby after hearing about the motorcycle accident, asking how he was doing. Robby downplayed it with a bad joke about motorcycles being a form of therapy. Is anyone concerned that Robby has gone through at least two therapists since his emotional breakdown?

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2026-01-30 05:59