The Pitt Episode 6 Recap: 12 PM

Episode 6 of Max’s ‘The Pitt,‘ titled ’12:00 P.M.,’ continues the intense day-long shift of Robby’s emergency team at Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Center. While the show has felt overwhelming from the start, the sixth episode pushes the senior attending down a different path, one where he can simply prioritize saving lives. The hospital’s upper management forces him to shift his management methods after a drastic decision looms over the department. Amidst the growing concerns, the influx of patients at the hospital shows no signs of stopping as midday approaches for the staff.  Meanwhile, Santos finds herself in a terrible position after a mishap takes place in the operation room, leaving her to contend with a bitter pill to swallow and perhaps a character growth moment.

New Management Talks Ruffle Dr. Robby’s Feathers

The sixth episode starts off right where episode five ends, with pregnant teen Christie Wheeler’s mom rushing into the ER to stop her daughter from going through with her abortion. A fight breaks out between her and Lynette, the girl’s aunt, who supports Christie’s abortion decision. Robby steps inside the room to take Lynette away and allow the mother and daughter to have some time alone to figure out their issues. Straight after the exchange, Robby heads back inside the ER only to be flagged down by Gloria, who is accompanied by another woman. Gloria introduces her to Robby as Dr. Tracy Morris, a regional manager at a private company that has recently been striking up beneficial partnerships with medical facilities. With the ER team’s patient satisfaction score at a low, the hospital’s upper echelons have allowed Tracy’s company to look into Robby’s department.

Robby is unhappy about the situation and makes it clear to Tracy. He cites the reduction in doctor salaries by Tracy’s company as a grave example of what doing business with people like her will cost. She leaves but tells Robby and Gloria to consider the proposal. Robby repeats the same message to Gloria, but she insists that he must improve the patient satisfaction score or risk losing control over the department altogether. With no options remaining, Robby decides to change his tactics slightly. During a brief midday meeting between the physicians, including the new recruits, the senior attending asks his charges to be more thoughtful about how they go about treating patients. They don’t have much time to dwell before new patients start rocking up again.

Santos Gets a Harsh Reality Check

We learned in the fifth episode that the stolen ambulance had finally been derailed, and the two passengers within were injured in the process. In episode 6, the two are brought to PTMC in relatively bad shape, although one is better than the other, namely Zach Dawson. The driver of the ambulance, Miles Fernandes, is found to be in bad shape and is taken straight into the operating room. Dr. Langdon has to fix the boy’s broken clavicle, which impinges on his breathing. Once the breathing tract is freed up, they can start finding solutions to other issues. Meanwhile, a patient named Silas Dunne goes into a critical state while being transferred between rooms. Santos takes the lead on the case and asks Dr. Garcia permission to insert a chest tube. The latter has been supportive of Santos thus far and accepts her proposal.

An excited Santos begins the operation quite confidently. However, it soon turns sour when the surgical knife accidentally slips from her fingers and lands directly on top of Garcia’s foot, wedging it directly into the muscle. Santos is immediately sidelined by Garcia, who asks Whitaker to take her place instead. The female intern is left red-faced and humiliated by the decision and stays silent in the corner of the room. Once the operation is complete, Garcia takes Santos with her and berates her about being too confident in herself and not showing humility where necessary. In some ways, this conversation has been long overdue, especially with Santos’ larger-than-life ego, which constantly sees her stepping on other’s toes. Perhaps with Garcia reprimanding her, who has been her only supporter, Santos may take the lesson to heart.

The Tragedy and Ethical Dilemmas Continue in the PTMC

While episode 6 introduces some new patients into the mix, the major plot points revolve around some of the preexisting cases. For instance, Dr. Mel King is still grappling with the disappearance of her 85-year-old patient’s daughter/caretaker, Rita. In the previous episode, Rita seemingly absconded after succumbing to the pressure of being a lone caretaker. Meanwhile, Mel feels anxious and depressed about the situation, deciding to ignore the patient completely, whose name is Ms. Kuduchima. Eventually, Dana tells her to not get too involved with the affair emotionally and handle the task like a pro. Elsewhere, Robby finally receives the results from Nick Bradley’s cerebral perfusion test. It confirms the tragic truth that Nick has no blood flow to his brain and is completely brain-dead.

Robby breaks the news to Nick’s parents, who are devastated at finally having to accept their son’s fate. He hooks them up with Emma, a family social worker who is equipped to handle the next steps. She mentions that Nick has actually signed up as an organ donor. Nick’s mother lashes out at Emma for suggesting that her son’s wishes be kept. Robby tells Emma that the family needs more time to heal before they can discuss the organ donor stuff. Lastly, a massive point of contention breaks out between Christie Wheeler’s mom and her aunt Lynette over the young girl’s pregnancy. Near the end of the episode, the two get into an altercation once more while Dr. Collins tries to separate them. It is evident that Christie has no intention of having the baby, but her mother is forcing her into it because of some unspoken thing in her past.

Christie’s aunt supports the young girl’s decision and stands up for her. However, the fight in the hall is counterproductive and must be broken up. It is unlikely that Christie’s situation will be dealt with anytime soon, at least not until we learn why the mother is so hell-bent on making her daughter go through with a pregnancy as a teen mom. From an ethical point of view, the situation feels incredibly dubious and may require Robby and Collins to step up as more than just physicians to get to the truth.

Read More: Is The Pitt a True Story? Is Dr. Michael Rabinavitch AKA Robby Based on a Real Doctor?