History Main / TriageTyrant

At the [[PlayedForHorror absolute worst case scenario]], a battlefield situation or an UrbanHellscape (or a complete sociopath of a nurse) they will use the concept of triage to justify letting people die.

Subtrope of BattleaxeNurse, a very uncaring member of the "caring profession". Related to ObstructiveBureaucrat. A coworker of the DrJerk, a talented physician who behaves like an ass.

Subtrope of BattleaxeNurse, a very uncaring member of the "caring profession". Related to ObstructiveBureaucrat. A coworker of the DrJerk.

* ''Film/{{Bringing Out the Dead}}'': The triage nurse gives lectures to the patients that come in. "Let me get this straight. You snorted cocaine and now you feel like your heart is going to explode. We didn't buy you the cocaine, we didn't shove it up your nose..."

-->'''Johns''': Battlefield doctors decide who lives and dies. It's called 'triage'.\\
'''Riddick''': [[BlackmailIsSuchAnUglyWord They kept calling it 'murder' when I did it]].

* ''Series/TheBigBangTheory'': {{Justified}} in an episode. Howard is faking an allergic reaction to keep Leonard's birthday party a secret, and the nurse refuses to play along. She looks like a tyrant when she tells Leonard that Howard is not a legitimate patient - until Howard appears to have actually eaten nuts and given himself a severe reaction.

* ''Series/TheIncredibleHulk1977'': David's friend-of-the-episode, a badass biker, gets a broken arm. David takes him to a doctor's office, where they end up sitting for hours. David finally calls the doctor on this; the doctor says that he can tell by looking that the biker is only there to get some prescription drugs and he refuses to participate in such activities.
-->'''Doctor''': I've found that, contrary to the saying you ''can'' judge a book by its cover.
-->'''David''': [[SarcasmMode That's amazing]] doctor. You can stand all the way over here, on the other side of the room, and just from a glance, you can tell that that man doesn't have a broken arm.

** In "[[Recap/StarTrekVoyagerS7E5CriticalCare Critical Care]]," the holographic Doctor gets stolen and sold to an alien hospital, where patients are assessed not according to urgency, but according to how "valuable" their skills are to society. As a result, the working classes suffer in crowded, undersupplied halls while the rich recover in luxury. In the Doctor's efforts to help, both the Prime Directive and the Hippocratic Oath get severely bent.
** In "[[Recap/StarTrekVoyagerS5E11LatentImage Latent Image]]," The Doctor is faced with two patients (Harry Kim and a RedShirt) who have an exactly equal chance of survival. He can only treat one of them in time, and the other will die. Because his program cannot find a logical way to decide, he chooses to save Harry because he's a friend. This causes a [[HeroicBSOD severe malfunction in his program]] that forces the crew to erase his memory of the event or risk losing their only medical officer.
** In the two-part episode "[[Recap/StarTrekVoyagerS4E17TheKillingGame The Killing Game]]," the ship is taken over by Hirogen who places the crew into brutal holographic simulations and forces the doctor to treat them. When a crewmember with life-threatening injuries and a Hirogen with minor burns are both brought in, the Hirogen medical officer orders the doctor to treat the Hirogen patient first. He protests that this goes against the rules of triage stating that critical injuries take priority. The Hirogen replies "your rules, not mine" and deactivates him when he refuses to comply.

* ''WesternAnimation/CodenameKidsNextDoor'': In the episode [[Recap/CodenameKidsNextDoorS3E12BOperationHOSPITAL "Operation: H.O.S.P.I.T.A.L."]], Sector V has to get into a hospital to rescue an injured operative [[spoiler:who later turns out to be Bradley]] because operatives who are treated there are being assaulted. Numbuh One has no luck with the triage nurse; even though she seems friendly and harmless, she doesn't take his authoritarian demands seriously. Numbuh Five, who is more polite and often the OnlySaneWoman of the team, is luckier and gets some information, but is still unable to get them admitted formally. Despite this, seeing as AdultsAreUseless in this cartoon (the ones who aren't evil, anyway), sneaking in is surprisingly easy, and no one tries to stop them. Lucky thing too, [[spoiler:because Bradley ''is'' targeted by the assailant, who happens to be Numbuh Five's evil sister Cree.]]

* ''Series/{{Friends}}'': The one who ends up with a face full of hockey puck.

* ''Series/{{MASH}}'': Given that the camp typically receives dozens of wounded at a time at least, triage is a matter of life and death every time, which has led to disputes:
** In one episode, Frank Burns (who's usually guilty of this trope) deliberately sends in American troops over Koreans even when there are Koreans in much greater need than soldiers.
*** The above is also a prime example of a [[ObstructiveBureaucrat bureaucratic mentality]]. Regulations say "Americans first, allies second, enemies last." Nothing about severity or urgency...

** In the two-part episode "[[Recap/StarTrekVoyagerS4E17TheKillingGame The Killing Game]]," the ship is taken over by Hirogen who places the crew into brutal holographic simulations and forces the doctor to treat them. When a crewmember with life-threatening injuries and a Hirogen with minor burns are both brought in, the Hirogen medical officer orders the doctor to treat the Hirogen patient first. He protests that this goes against the rules of triage is that critical injuries take priority. The Hirogen replies "your rules, not mine" and deactivates him when he refuses to comply.
** A Variation occurs in "[[Recap/StarTrekVoyagerS7E18AuthorAuthor Author, Author]]"--The Doctor has written a holo-novel in which the user plays the part of an EMH in a triage situation. A bridge officer is brought in with a minor concussion, but there is already a [[RedShirt patient]] dying from a ruptured aorta. Captain Jenkins (Captain Janeway's EvilCounterpart) ends the debate by shooting the poor RedShirt.

* ''Literature/StarTrekVanguard'': In the first novel of the series, ''Bombay'', The CMO complains bitterly about "battlefield triage" - she and her staff can't treat crewmen who may need their help the most if they aren't critical to keeping the ship from being destroyed while under attack. To her, it feels like a perversion of the Hippocratic Oath.

* ''WesternAnimation/CodenameKidsNextDoor'': In the episode "Operation: H.O.S.P.I.T.A.L.", Sector V had to get into a hospital to rescue an injured operative [[spoiler:who later turned out to be Bradley]], because operatives who were treated there were being assaulted. Numbuh One had no luck with the triage nurse; even though she seemed friendly and harmless, she didn't take his authoritarian demands seriously. Numbuh Five, who was more polite and often the [[OnlySaneMan Only Sane Member]] of the team, had more luck and got some information, but was still unable to get them admitted formally. Despite this, seeing as AdultsAreUseless in this cartoon (the ones who aren't evil, anyway), sneaking in was surprisingly easy, and no one tried to stop them. Lucky thing too, [[spoiler:because Bradley ''was'' targeted by the assailant, who happened to be Numbuh Five's evil sister Cree.]]

Subtrope of BattleaxeNurse, a very uncaring member of the "caring profession". This is a triage nurse, staffing the desk in the waiting room, who sorts patients not according to severity or urgency, but according to their own whims and twisted love of power.

There is a tendency for many people (who don't understand the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triage concept of triage]]) to decide that the ER staff is indulging in this, even when they aren't. Add to that that the desk staff at an ER have to be firm about who they're calling, but can't explain to the other patients why they're being taken in that order, and you get an appearance of petty tyranny. While desk nurses are the most likely to get this portrayal, medical personnel in general are often seen as petty dictators who are unreasonable about things like visiting hours; admittance to the ICU; flowers, candy, and food being brought to the patients; and all the other annoyances about having a loved one in the hospital.

Of course it should go without saying that in RealLife there are very good reasons for all these rules. Sometimes that is illustrated dramatically with a medical emergency that happens right in front of the complainer and the triage nurse has to go into action while the complainer realizes that there are higher medical priorities he must respect.

Related to ObstructiveBureaucrat. Coworker of the BattleaxeNurse and DrJerk.

[[folder:Film]]
* She's not a nurse, but the "bereavement liaison" in ''Film/LittleMissSunshine'' certainly qualifies.
* {{Deconstructed}} in ''[[Film/{{Gridlockd}} Gridlock'd]]''. The two main characters, junkies on the run from some hoodlums and the law, are desperately trying to get into rehab. They repeatedly bounce off of gridlock and red tape while talking to a number of overworked and indifferent bureaucrats. While the junkies rage at the obvious dysfunction of the system, the bureaucrats get their own licks at the junkies, showing how there are many other people just like them jockeying for the same limited resources and that the world doesn't stop simply because they suddenly decide to ask for help.

* ''Film/{{Bringing Out the Dead}}'' has the triage nurse giving lectures to the patients that come in. "Let me get this straight. You snorted cocaine and now you feel like your heart is going to explode. We didn't buy you the cocaine, we didn't shove it up your nose..."
* Discussed in ''Film/{{Doomsday}}'' as a justification to commit a big KickTheDog act regarding the people infected with the Reaper virus:
-->'''[[EvilChancellor Michael Canaris]]''': It's basic combat triage. [[PopulationControl Leave the dying to die]].
* ''Film/PitchBlack'': Discussed between Riddick and Johns as they see that it's still a long road to go to get to the escape vehicle and the possibility of being torn apart by bio-raptors is just increasing. Johns' discussion is an attempt to try to convince Riddick to [[WouldHurtAChild kill Jack and use her corpse to distract the bio-raptors]]. Riddick, who is a FriendToAllChildren [[EvenEvilHasStandards even if he is an unrepentant criminal]], decides Johns is better off dead right then and there.

* Creator/DesmondBagley makes this mistake in his thriller ''Juggernaut''. After a bombing raid during a civil war in Africa, some doctors are asked if they used triage and indignantly reply that they tried to save everyone. From Bagley's description he appears to be confusing it with "reverse triage" (treating the least injured first so they can be returned to battle).
* In the first novel of the ''Literature/StarTrekVanguard'' series, the ''Bombay'''s CMO complains bitterly about "battlefield triage" - she and her staff can't treat crewmen who may need their help the most if they aren't critical to keeping the ship from being destroyed while under attack. To her, it feels like a perversion of the Hippocratic Oath.

* ''Series/{{Friends}}'', the one who ends up with a face full of hockey puck.
* ''Series/OneTreeHill'': "I didn't like cheerleaders when I was in school" "But she's pregnant and in pain!" "[[KickTheDog Guess who's waiting a little longer?]]"

* Nicole Sullivan, as the "Vancome lady", as a nurse at [[ChristianityIsCatholic Sisters of Mercy Hospital]] in ''Series/MadTV1995''. She turns away an unmarried woman going into premature labor, a hemophiliac because "[[MistakenForGay we don't condone that lifestyle choice]]," and sends a man with a flesh-eating disease to [[DisproportionateRetribution the doctor who fired her]].

** In the two-part episode "[[Recap/StarTrekVoyagerS4E17TheKillingGame The Killing Game]]," the ship is taken over by Hirogen who place the crew into brutal holographic simulations and force the doctor to treat them. When a crewmember with life-threatening injuries and a Hirogen with minor burns are both brought in, the Hirogen medical officer orders the doctor to treat the Hirogen patient first. He protests that this goes against the rules of triage is that critical injuries take priority. The Hirogen replies "your rules, not mine" and deactivates him when he refuses to comply.

* Justified in an episode of ''Series/TheBigBangTheory''. Howard is faking an allergic reaction to keep Leonard's birthday party a secret, and the nurse refuses to play along. She looks like a tyrant when she tells Leonard that Howard is not a legitimate patient - until Howard appears to have actually eaten nuts and given himself a severe reaction.
* The ''Series/{{Emergency}}'' episode, "Musical Mania," had two yokels taking their son with a bad case of lead poisoning and the emitting nurse brusquely tells them to wait while she fills out a report. However, Head Nurse [=McCall=] immediately tells her to process them, noting that people in need take priority over bureaucracy any day.
* In an episode of ''Series/TheIncredibleHulk1977'' David's friend-of-the-episode, a badass biker, gets a broken arm. David takes him to a doctor's office, where they end up sitting for hours. David finally calls the doctor on this; the doctor says that he can tell by looking that the biker is only there to get some prescription drugs and he refuses to participate in such activities.
-->'''Doctor''': I've found that, contrary to the saying you ''can'' judge a book by its cover.
-->'''David''': [[SarcasmMode That's amazing]] doctor. You can stand all the way over here, on the other side of the room, and just from a glance you can tell that that man doesn't have a broken arm.

* A [[ThereShouldBeALaw law to outlaw Triage Tyranny]] is proposed in the popular ''Magazine/{{MAD}}'' article "New Laws Congress Should Pass ''Right Now''!"

* In the ''WesternAnimation/CodenameKidsNextDoor'' episode "Operation: H.O.S.P.I.T.A.L., Sector V had to get into a hospital to rescue an injured operative [[spoiler:who later turned out to be Bradley]], because operatives who were treated there were being assaulted. Numbuh One had no luck with the triage nurse; even though she seemed friendly and harmless, she didn't take his authoritarian demands seriously. Numbuh Five, who was more polite and often the [[OnlySaneMan Only Sane Member]] of the team, had more luck and got some information, but was still unable to get them admitted formally. Despite this, seeing as AdultsAreUseless in this cartoon (the ones who aren't evil, anyway), sneaking in was surprisingly easy, and no one tried to stop them. Lucky thing too, [[spoiler:because Bradley ''was'' targeted by the assailant, who happened to be Numbuh Five's evil sister Cree.]]

'''Riddick''': [[BlackmailIsAnUglyWord They kept calling it 'murder' when I did it]].