Dr. Brian Goldman

I tell another story.

about a young woman who has an infected kidney stone.

And the thing about an infected kidney stone is that it's not just having a kidney stone.

If you have a stone that's blocking the flow of urine and there's an infection above that stone, that blockage,

then that person can die of sepsis very, very quickly unless you, by one way or another, relieve the obstruction.

And I talk, I tell the story of the race against time to find somebody who can fix that before this young woman died.

And so that's how I chose the types of stories that I wanted to tell.

By two words, Jacob.

And these are two words that were spoken to me shortly after my radio show, White Coat Black Art, first came on the air, the first 10 episodes in the summer.

And the executive producer of the then executive producer of another venerable CBC show, Ideas,

Bernie looked, walked by my my desk and I knew he had a look on his face like he wanted to say something, but he walked by and then he stopped and came back to my desk and looked at me and said two words, anger and understanding.

You know, that's what your show promotes.

Anger that that things are as stressful as they are, that that it's it doesn't all run smoothly.

Not that emergency medicines ever run completely smoothly.

But under these conditions, it's worse.

But then understanding by pulling back the curtain.

I'm hoping that people understand that the people who work inside the sliding doors, the doctors, the nurses, the pharmacists, the social workers, the respiratory therapists, the students, the residents, the paramedics, that they're human beings who have likes and dislikes and have good days and not so good days, days when they're exhilarated and ecstatic and days when they're cranky because they didn't get enough sleep or maybe because they had an argument with their spouse on the way into work.

or they've got a teenage child who is having trouble in school or maybe getting into drugs and other mental health issues.

And so I wanted anger and understanding.

So I want people to understand that there are real people trying to do the best they can under very trying circumstances.