History Main / TriageTyrant

* {{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.

* PlayedForDrama in the TupacShakur movie ''Gridlock'd'', to the point where you could even describe this character as the main villain of the piece. She decides Stretch and Spoon are troublemakers, and won't even prioritize them when they are shot and stabbed, respectively.
** However, there is later a very meaningful subversion which gets across the movie's message without [[{{Anvilicious}} dropping anvils]] - on the final shot of the movie, the camera pans away from the main characters and we see the entire waiting room is full of people with injuries or illnesses as least as bad as theirs, showcasing the absolute inadequacy of healthcare provision for low-income people in the movie's New York.

* Nicole Sullivan, as the "Vancome lady", as a nurse in ''MadTV''. She kept turning people away for stupid reasons. They'd describe their emergency and she'd explain, in chirpy tones, why they should head down the street. The only one I remember was a hemophiliac who was told that Sisters of Mercy didn't support [[MistakenForGay that lifestyle]]... [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bdyf3Ja1KaI Link to the episode]] (until it's removed)

* ''{{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 lead to disputes:

* In one ''{{Star Trek Voyager}}'' episode, 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.

* One of the cruel realities of any mass casuality incident, such as a large multi-vehicle wreck in the middle of nowhere or something on the scale of Katrina or 9/11, is that not everyone can be saved, even with the miracles of modern medicine. On the same venue, time spent dealing with those patients who cannot be helped will cause those that can to die. Enter the principle of Simple Triage and Rapid Treatment. If you can walk: Priority 3, help carry the person next to you over to the casuality collection point. If you can't walk, but follow commands, Priority 2: We'll get to you as soon as we can. On the other hand, if the only thing you do is breathe or babble incoherently, you get out of there pretty fast: Priority 1. Unsurvivable injuries, such as massive burns or amputations, no pulse, or no spontaneous breathing? Expectant/Morgue.

* She's not a nurse, but the "bereavement counselor" in ''LittleMissSunshine'' certainly qualifies.

* She's not a nurse, but the hospital administrator in ''LittleMissSunshine'' certainly qualifies.

** In another, The Doctor is faced with two patients (Harry Kim and a RedShirt) who have an exactly equal chance of survival. He can only treat of them, 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.

* ''{{MASH}}'':

There is a tendency for many people (who don't understand the 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.

There is a tendency for many people (who don't understand the 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.

* In reality, there's a federal law called [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emergency_Medical_Treatment_and_Active_Labor_Act EMTALA]] that requires hospitals and EMS services to at least assess a patient to determine how much of an emergency the patient really has. Once the patient walks through the hospital doors or is brought in by ambulance, they have to be seen and can't be sent away until they are considered stabilized. If the patient isn't really that sick or injured, then they'll get the basic assessment and put in the triage queue to wait until there's room for the less sick and injured.
** People who abuse this law just to get attention or watch the parade of gore cases go by are known as [=GOMER=]s. Nothing to do with Jim Nabors or Leonard Lawrence, it's an acronym that stands for "Get Out Of My Emergency Room!"

* In reality, there's a federal law called [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emergency_Medical_Treatment_and_Active_Labor_Act EMTALA]] that requires hospitals and EMS services to at least assess a patient to determine how much of an emergency the patient really has. Once the patient walks through the hospital doors or is brought in by ambulance, they have to be seen and can't be sent away until they are considered stabilized. If the patient isn't really that sick or injured, then they'll get the basic assessment and put in the triage queue to wait until there's room for the less sick and injured. \\
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* People who abuse this law just to get attention or watch the parade of gore cases go by are known as [=GOMER=]s. Nothing to do with Jim Nabors or Leonard Lawrence, it's an acronym that stands for "Get Out Of My Emergency Room!"

* People who abuse this law just to get attention or watch the parade of gore cases go by are known as GOMERs. Nothing to do with Jim Nabors or Leonard Lawrence, it's an acronym that stands for "Get Out Of My Emergency Room!"

People who abuse this law just to get attention or watch the parade of gore cases go by are known as GOMERs. Nothing to do with Jim Nabors or Leonard Lawrence, it's an acronym that stands for "Get Out Of My Emergency Room!"

* This actually does occur in one episode of ''{{MASH}}'' with Frank Burns when he deliberately sends in American troops over Koreans even when there are Koreans in much greater need than soldiers.

** In another episode, Hawkeye is on the bus doing triage, and gets into a fight with a soldier over being a commie-lover by prioritising seriously wounded Koreans over wounded American soldiers.

* There was an episode of ''MadTV'' wherein this dippy admittance nurse kept turning people away for stupid reasons. They'd describe their emergency and she'd explain, in chirpy tones, why they should head down the street. The only one I remember was a hemophiliac who was told that Sisters of Mercy didn't support [[MistakenForGay that lifestyle]]...

** That'd be Nicole Sullivan, as the "Vancome lady", as a nurse... [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bdyf3Ja1KaI here's a link]] (until it's removed).

* In reality, there's a federal law called [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emergency_Medical_Treatment_and_Active_Labor_Act EMTALA]] that requires hospitals and EMS services to at least assess a patient to determine how much of an emergency the patient really has. Once the patient walks through the hospital doors or is brought in by ambulance, they have to be seen and can't be sent away until they are considered stabilized. If the patient isn't really that sick or injured, then they'll get the basic assessment and put in the triage queue to wait until there's room for the less sick and injured.
** People who abuse this law just to get attention or watch the parade of gore cases go by are known as GOMERs. Nothing to do with Jim Nabors or Leonard Lawrence, it's an acronym that stands for "Get Out Of My Emergency Room!"

* In one ''{{Star Trek: Voyager}}'' episode, 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.

* This actually does occur in one episode of ''[=~M* A* S* H~=]'' with Frank Burns when he deliberately sends in American troops over Koreans even when there are Koreans in much greater need than soldiers.

** NotMakingThisUpDisclaimer: It should be noted that [[{{Anvilicious}} that dialogue is more or less verbatim]].