Just a Banana on the Internet

they very much showed her competence, on purpose. consistently calling out Robby on his bullshit, "why do you treat me like one of your residents?" "what the hell was that with Samira earlier/what do you need to get some basic empathy back?" one of the main characters who does Not take his shit.

the slash trake. a life saving procedure that she hadn't even done before, only seen. and then standing up for herself when Garcia was snippy with her. "maybe they'll thank us for saving his life." saving the mother of the heatstroke child from suicide. following her out, snatching her before she could throw herself in front of a bus. fighting for the incarcerated patient to stay, to get better care. "everything I've done is an effort to improve the system."

even when she sort of fucks up as a mentor, getting onto Santos before establishing a relationship, telling Mel she's never been named in a lawsuit when she literally wasn't able to be, she fixes both in the same fucking day. she goes over to Trinity just to praise her. she comforts Mel and also gets her some quiet time alone for a while before her deposition. she's kind. she strives to be good to her residents.

all of this is showing competency as an attending, as a mentor, a doctor, a human being. this isn't even getting into all of it, this is surface fucking level. and yes, she absolutely does have flaws, (which make her more delicious 😋) but she has several good traits and moments. she is purposefully shown. as. competent. her disability being a cause for concern does NOT negate that. it's a hardship. it's something disabled people do face, working against a body that fights you every step of the way.

the takeaway isn't "disabled people are incompetent" it is, again, "the system is broken." that ER is overworked and understaffed and it has been for a long time. she's suggesting another attending because she knows she needs that, knows she probably can't handle all this on her own, and that's not somehow a bad thing. needing accomodations should never be seen as a bad thing.

Robby needs it too. Robby doesn't have a physical disability, but he constantly burns himself out in a way that harms not only himself but also others. which, there's a whole other conversation with the Baran and Robby dynamic about physical vs mental struggles and disabilities. "if Baran shouldn't have worked that day than neither should Robby" yes! yes. that's the point. mental struggles still often aren't taken seriously, even by the people who experience them. (sometimes especially.) but he's allowing the system to abuse him. she's fighting against it.