Daily Dialogue — November 20, 2019

Mrs. Christie: I’ve got nearly a thousand nurses in this hospital. 
Bock: (gathering rage) And every time one of them has her period, she disappears for three days. My doctors complain regularly they can’t find the same nurse on the same floor two days in a row. What the hell am I supposed to tell that boy Schaefer’s parents? That a substitute nurse assassinated him, because she couldn’t tell the doctors from the patients on the floor? My God, the incompetence here is absolutely radiant! I mean, two separate nurses walk into a room, stick needles into a man — and one of those was a number eighteen jelco! — tourniquet the poor son of a bitch, anchor the poor son of a bitch’s arm with adhesive tape, and it’s the wrong poor son of a bitch! I mean, my God! Where do you train your nurses, Mrs. Christie? Dachau!?

— The Hospital (1971), by Paddy Chayefsky

The Daily Dialogue theme for the week: Doctor.

Trivia: Writer Paddy Chayefsky performed a number of roles on the film. Chayefsky was the writer and a producer and also narrated the film at the start. Chayefsky reportedly had full control over content and casting of the movie.

Dialogue On Dialogue: One of the classic Chayefsky monologues. It was inspired by his own experience with the poor healthcare his wife experienced.