Idea for a Medical Drama

[sideshowstarlet, BSN, RN]

Kind of a long story how @Davey Do and I got onto this topic, but my comment was as follows: 

This may sound crazy, but in the pre-Covid era, I used to want to write a novel or screenplay about a woman who was inspired to pretend to be a nurse after she, as a visitor, saved her husband's life while the husband was a patient in the ICU. She fakes her credentials and manages to get a job on the med-surg unit at the very hospital where she saved her husband. 

The nurses she works with are a colorful cast of characters. There's the old, by-the-book nurse who still wears the traditional nurse dress and white shoes (always referred to as Nurse Nellie by the other characters, not simply Nellie). There's the enthusiastic but sometimes clueless new grad. There's the corporate-minded DON. Of course, at first, the main character's attempts at nursing don't impress her colleagues. But the unit is short-staffed, and, honestly, has anyone actually gotten a 90-day evaluation after 90 days? So she stays and becomes part of the unit. 

She doesn't really fit in until a patient's mistress gets jealous that the young grad nurse is assessing her man and slaps her (based on a true story from a place where I actually used to work). While the DON and the rest of administration are worrying about customer service and the hospital's legal department are debating whether or not a mistress qualifies as a family member, the main character nurse is assigned to care for the patient. Meanwhile, the new grad nurse was seriously injured and is in a coma in the ICU where the main character's husband was staying at the start of the story. Her prognosis is grim, and administration plans to report the new grad's carcass to the Board of Nursing. 

At one point, the patient needs an enema and consented to the enema. However, just as the main character nurse was walking into the room to administer the enema, the mistress drops by for a visit. With a jealous cry, she tries to attack the main character nurse. The pretend nurse defends herself by shoving the enema down the mistress's throat. This is how the main character nurse finally wins the respect of the crusty old bat Nurse Nellie. For her part, the main character nurse didn't realize that the mouth wasn't the end you were supposed to administer an enema in. 

Together, the main character and Nurse Nellie mount a defense of the new grad nurse, pointing out that by being so rude to the mistress, the new grad was actually providing excellent customer service to the patient's wife. Somehow, this leads to the patient and his wife fixing up their marriage. 

The new grad is able to recover from her injuries and returns to become DON of that same med-surg unit, as the DON took a corporate job, and nobody else wanted the DON job. The unit settles back into its usual state of dysfunction. 

At the end of the story, the main character abruptly turns in her resignation and visits the cemetery. She approaches her husband's grave, which she has been avoiding in the year since his death in the ICU. "Sorry I haven't been to see you," she says, laying down some flowers she purchased from her former workplace's gift shop. "Work has been crazy, but I'm doing something else now." 

So... Husband was dead all along. What will the main character do now,  the audience is left to wonder. 

I made a facebook post with not nearly this amount of detail at the beginning of 2019, discussing my idea for a screenplay about a visitor getting a RN job by pretending to be a nurse. It would, I joked, explain the medical stuff TV liked to get wrong. It pops up in my FB memories every year. It wasn't as funny during Covid when people weren't allowed to visit their relatives, though. 

Anyway, that's my idea for the Great American Novel. 

[Davey Do]

This is a great story and thank you for posting in the Artis Forum, side show!

sideshowstarlet said:

The pretend nurse defends herself by shoving the enema down the mistress's throat.

This part sounded familiar, so I looked through my archives and came up with this from March 2022:

We  could collaborate on a book, you know? "Story by sideshowstarlet, illustrated by Davey Do?

[GrumpyRN, NP]

Could visualise this as a film sideshowstarlet. With as you say a bit of a cliff-hanger at the end.

Then a series could be made.

Love the enema image. (The visual one from Davey and the mental one from the story).

Who knows? Might see it at the BAFTA's or Golden Globes or Oscars.

 

[sideshowstarlet, BSN, RN]

Davey Do said:

This is a great story and thank you for posting in the Artis Forum, side show!

This part sounded familiar, so I looked through my archives and came up with this from March 2022:

We  could collaborate on a book, you know? "Story by sideshowstarlet, illustrated by Davey Do?

Thank you! That takes me back!

GrumpyRN said:

Could visualise this as a film sideshowstarlet. With as you say a bit of a cliff-hanger at the end.

Then a series could be made.

Love the enema image. (The visual one from Davey and the mental one from the story).

Who knows? Might see it at the BAFTA's or Golden Globes or Oscars.

 

Oooohhhh... I would want Meryl Streep to play Nurse Nellie.

[sideshowstarlet, BSN, RN]

Davey Do said:

This is a great story and thank you for posting in the Artis Forum, side show!

This part sounded familiar, so I looked through my archives and came up with this from March 2022:

We  could collaborate on a book, you know? "Story by sideshowstarlet, illustrated by Davey Do?

A travel nurse who I used to be roommates with and I used to talk about writing a book together. We would call it "Agency." It would feature stories about working at various agencies and the clients and coworkers we meet there. It would also have a double meaning, as many of our clients lack agency on paper due to being significantly disabled due to intellectual/developmental disabilities or dementia or being children. I'm sure your artwork would make our stories so much more interesting!

[Davey Do]

sideshowstarlet said:

I'm sure your artwork would make our stories so much more interesting!

Thank you, sideshow. It's like my dog, Dopey Joe, is always telling me....

[sideshowstarlet, BSN, RN]

Davey Do said:

Thank you, sideshow. It's like my dog, Dopey Joe, is always telling me....

On the other hand, boring visuals can make readers flip past even the most exciting stories of morons impersonating nurses, nurses impersonating morons, managers impersonating a door, doors impersonating a manager, and My Big Fat Vegas Wedding (officiated by an Elvis impersonator). But I'm sure you wouldn't let us down!

[GrumpyRN, NP]

sideshowstarlet said:

managers impersonating a door, doors impersonating a manager,

Love it, love it, love it. Now THAT'S an image.????

Sadly I've worked with too many doors over the years.

[sideshowstarlet, BSN, RN]

GrumpyRN said:

Love it, love it, love it. Now THAT'S an image.????

Sadly I've worked with too many doors over the years.

As have I!