Name/Date: __________________________
“The Waiting Room”—Video 82 minutes in length
In the space below each question, please write down a thoughtful discussion point for after the video:
1. Does the health care setting shown in the film represent the greatest good for the greatest number of
people? Why? Why not?
The health care setting shown in the film does not represent the greatest good for the greatest number
of people because there are still a lot of patients waiting to be cared for in the waiting room that do
need emergent services, but they are not able to receive them because hospital staff needs to prioritize
ambulance cases and other cases as well.
2. Reflect on the following perspectives from the movie regarding equity of health care:
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Patient/family perspective – Some of the patients and family seemed grateful and appreciate of
the services they were able to receive. Some of them felt the system is very disorganized and
doesn’t provide timely care. And others felt frustrated by the equity of health care in terms of
being ping ponged around due to their health insurance.
Staff perspective – The staff is well aware of how there is no equity in health care especially the
staff in the ED because they see so many cases of patients coming in that are not receiving the
care they need. The staff wants to help everyone but feels powerless and can only refer patients
to the resources that will eventually provide them with the care they need.
Business perspective – From the business perspective, they seem to care about profits but they
do have some charity plans and installment plan programs available for those belonging to low
socioeconomic status.
3. What observations related to professionalism stand out most prominently?
Some observations that stood out to me was how the entire staff remained professional and respectful
towards all patients. They were being empathetic and trying to console them. The nurse checking in
patients had a great attitude and maintained professionalism while communicating with each and every
patient. Her professionalism stood out a lot to me.
4. What communication strategies were used by staff and what effects did they have?
The staff tried to remain calm, empathetic, and communicate in simple terms so everyone could
understand the medical language and what was going on. When the staff spoke with respect and
remained calm, the patients remailed calm as well and cooperated. The staff tried their best to
acknowledge to patients that they understand their situation and the need for care.
5. In what way did this video show a public hospital working as a “safety net of last resort” as one of the
ED doctors said?
Name/Date: __________________________
This video showed this public hospital working as a “safety net of last resort” for the couple that came in
where the patient had testicular cancer. They were going to Kaiser first without having insurance and
their surgery got cancelled due to no active kaiser membership and insurance which led the couple to
seek county services at this public hospital to get the urgent surgery completed.
6. What “public health issues” did you see come up in this setting?
Some of the public health issues I saw coming up in this setting was related to socioeconomic status and
the need for insurance coverage. Some even lacked the knowledge about how healthcare functions and
insurance. Patients coming into ED typically didn’t have primary care providers either and ED staff had
to guide them on how to get a general practitioner for ongoing care.
7. What is one (or more) way(s) the healthcare delivery system shown in the film could be improved?
One way the healthcare delivery system shown in the film could be improved is by assisting and
educating the patients on how to enroll into health insurance. Another way is by increasing the staff and
beds available so timely care can be provided to everyone.