The way the addiction and recovery storyline has been handled on The Pitt this season upsets me. I will start by saying Iâm by no means an expert on thisâIâm an entry level medical worker at an outpatient facility, where we havenât had any issues like drug stealingâbut through research and conversations with other family workers who work in medicine, Iâve found that there are still pathways for physicians who are addicts to return to medicine, even if they stole drugs. Up until this weekâs episode, I was under the impression that Langdonâs drug use had been reported and handled officiallyâit seemed like an open secret that he had been at rehab, and given Al-Hashimiâs reaction to first meeting him, it seems like she had been briefed on the situation. Santos seems to see it as a cover-up, but the situation could have been handled officially without the entire ER being briefed.
However, after this weekâs episodeâRobby and Danaâs argument, and Robby and Al-Hashimiâs argumentâit seems like the show is pursuing some kind of cover-up storyline. This is irritating to meâI think it would be a lot more productive to the storyline, and a lot less stigmatizing to addicts, to show that Langdonâs drug abuse (including the stealing) were reported and officially handled as part of his PHP, and instead focus his storyline on the interpersonal conflict between him, Robby, and Santos. You can still show Robby and Santosâ (completely understandable!) anger, hurt, and distrust of Langdon WITHOUT the cover-up storyline.
You can find many, many articles online detailing how PHPs work, and hereâs a summary from a Reddit user and doctor describing how the program would work in the context of the show: https://www.reddit.com/r/ThePittTVShow/comments/1rw4nn1/how_physician_health_programs_actually_work/
ALSO I SWEAR IâM NOT AI GUYS I JUST LOVE EM DASHES
TL;DR: The Pittâs focus on Robby potentially covering up Langdonâs drug diversion isnât really necessary to his, Robbyâs, or Santosâ character arcs. In real life, there are plenty of ways for Langdonâs drug abuse, diversion, and return to work to be officially reported and handled.
