The Resident is the perfect teen gateway to the wonderful world of medical dramas
If you're not familiar with the FOX seriesThe Resident, now on Netflix, you might think it's just one of many medical dramas out there. But in fact, it's a step beyond your run-of-the-mill hospital shows -- and here’s why you should make it the one to introduce the teens to the genre.
The series opens with a new resident joining Chastain Hospital. Dev is idealistic and soon realizes that he needs to change his views if he wants to save patients. But that doesn’t mean he can’t work on changing the system at the same time.
The Resident ran for six seasons on FOX, although I’ll argue that the first four seasons are the strongest. This series just didn’t feel right after the loss of a couple of characters, but the show did the best it could. No spoilers, but just be prepared for a shift in the tone if you binge through the whole thing with your family.
But why do we think The Resident is the perfect show to kick off your kids' medical drama obsession, versus, say, Grey's Anatomy or ER? Let's get into it.
The Resident doesn’t shy away from the realities of the American healthcare system
We all know there are issues with the American healthcare system. A lot of medical dramas focus on this in one way or another. The biggest is when it comes to patients affording healthcare.
The Resident takes us into the hospital side of things. In the first episode, there’s a comment about how the hospital won’t have a problem with Dev’s actions because it means more money for them. Throughout the first season, there is a focus on defrauding cancer patients for money. After all, cancer drugs are some of the most expensive and most lucrative for hospitals.
Teenagers can come into medical dramas with an idealistic view like Dev. This is a great series to touch on the realities and help teens see what needs to change in the future.
The show reminds us that people can change
When a show has a villain, that villain usually remains that way to the end. There is a constant fight to take down the antagonistic character. The Resident certainly has those types of characters, but there is one villain who actually gets one of the best character developments. The writers show how one person can change for the better because he wants to.
I’m talking about Dr. Bell. Teens will get a chance to see how he starts off as a major issue for the doctors. However, deep down he does want to help patients, and he ends up seeing how he needs to change if he wants to do better for the people coming into the hospital.
A look at how doctors and nurses work together
When you look at other medical shows, you’ll usually see a focus on either the doctors or the nurses. While shows will still include the other, there isn’t the time spent on both sides of medicine. The Resident has both doctors and nurses as main characters. We get a chance to see how they actually work together.
Doctors will do a lot, but the nurses tend to do more, especially in the ER. We get to see how they work together, and how they can sometimes step on each other’s toes. Teens need to see how the hospitals actually work so that they have respect for all those working within the system. This could also give them a new career to aspire to because they see how important everyone is.
The Resident brings an excellent mixture of character development and the realities of the healthcare system. Make it a medical drama to watch with the teens.
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