Educational Media Reviews Online

The Emergency Department of the Los Angeles County Hospital sets the stage for Code Black’s exposé of the state of the U.S. health care system. Shining a spotlight on one of the busiest Emergency Departments in the U.S., often credited as the birthplace of emergency medicine, director Ryan McGarry reveals the intricate relationships that form between the health care team, the patient, and county hospital management, awash the bureaucracy imposed by government regulations and medical insurers that keep an emergency department running. Examining the interplay here raises the question of why we can’t seem to get health care on track in the U.S.

Code Black’s dramatic opening plunges into the chaotic world dubbed “C-Booth,” the original LA County Hospital Emergency Department. The work for physicians, nurses, social workers--the entire health care team—is fast-paced, stressful, emotional and at the same time uniquely satisfying for them, knowing they’ve done their absolute best to help save a life. The actual space they work in is quite small. That adds to the intensity of the sometimes frantic pace. When the county builds a brand new County Hospital, (right next to the original one) there is a fresh new comfortable space with more room, more privacy, less chaos, and yet something is missing.

Comparing the old and the new emergency room spaces, adding testimony from medical residents, nurses and hospital workers, delving into the mountains of paperwork necessary for one case, and looking at the hard data of patient wait times, it doesn’t take long for the engaging and enterprising senior residents to take matters into their own hands. Having had the experience of C-Booth, these caring, seemingly tireless, and brilliant young men and women come up with a way to rearrange the waiting area so that patient wait times decrease and staff are better utilized. They realize they have recreated C-Booth in the new space. Operating in the tight quarters of the old space created an intimacy and connection with the patient that was lost in the shiny new ER.

It is the detailed confessions of these residents that make up the heart of Code Black. Hearing about their lives before medical school, their expectations as new residents in the emergency department, their emotional reactions of working in such a crowded, intense space, and realizing that they are the only medical treatment for thousands builds the foundation for the film. Code Black is highly recommended for every academic library that supports health sciences programs, particularly medical and nursing schools. It should probably be required viewing for anyone thinking about going into emergency medicine. Production values are first-rate, particularly the music choices. Tighter editing would be welcome (there are several repeated visuals), as would creating a classroom version at under 60 minutes. The current 80 minute run time is too long for in-class viewing, but would work well in the flipped classroom. There are a few graphic scenes that might bother the squeamish and some use of strong language. All the medical “reality” shows in the world won’t bring the “real” message home like Code Black does.

See also: The Waiting Room (2012)