Grey's Anatomy debate

 Spoiler Alert 

This post is about a MAJOR plot point in Grey's Anatomy. If you haven't seen WHY the hospital was renamed Grey-Sloan, don't read ahead!

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A fan group asked about Owen's responsibility for the crash. My reply: 

Some people, before they book a flight or buy a car or something, will research safety reports. 

Many of us hope that, if our boss/company is going to have us transported, that the company has someone researching safety. Many people believe their employer has invested time in training them, and therefore has an interest in their survival. 

No one who got on that plane asked any questions beforehand. And when Arizona took Alex's spot, no one questioned that. No one stopped to research if the airline had a decent record. Or if there was a limit to the types of doctors who could go. And, if it hadn't crashed, they'd have just kept going with their lives having never looked any of it up. No, "we made it! What were the odds?🤔" 

But

Should someone have done that?

Should an employer research before agreeing to a contract with some company? 

(The plane, the gloves that Pegasus bought which resulted in how many problems, the basement generator...) 

Contemplating this question for more than a few minutes has to bring up the subject of unions. Big companies get all angry about unions. The implication that employees need someone to protect their rights? That companies don't put their own people before profits? That they would dare to ever cut a corner to save a few million dollars? 😑 

In the Grey’s Anatomy universe, the chief of surgery has to make a ridiculously high amount of decisions that aren't about surgery. We saw in the early seasons that Webber had Patricia (Patrice?), a dedicated assistant who didn’t do surgery or medicine... she just assisted with the paperwork side. And she probably would have caught that the airline had a poor safety record. Maybe even caught that there is a limit of attendings on a flight. Her focus wasn't split ten different ways.

Owen didn't hire an assistant. He barely even used his office, because the paperwork didn't become his priority. So no one was focused on researching the decisions he had to make. (And that gave the writers lots of drama to play with! So much so that there still isn't someone doing that job. And everyone who becomes chief gets burned out. Even Mer, though becoming chief was obviously an original goal of the show, that she would achieve the position her mother never did.) 

So, yes, in a way, it was Owen's fault. It was also the fault of some unknown character who runs HR and doesn't hire a proper assistant to the chief. And no, I don't mean George O'Malley as the chief's intern. I mean a non-medical person who just does office stuff, paperwork, research, that "boring stuff" that doesn't play well on tv, but in real life absolutely has to be done. 

Because companies have to be sued when they get lax on safety. ESPECIALLY if they sign up for an agreement to ignore safety standards for a few years. (Current US environmental news. Not a fictional storyline from a show. 🤔 Though it won't be long before Grey-Sloan is treating patients for arsenic and mercury poisoning from water. 🤦‍♀️) 

Grey's Anatomy is a based in the US, a very litigation-dependent society. The writers have to work within the construct. Could a company be sued for such negligence? Yeah. And thus, it was written. 

But, for all the guilt he felt, when his next wife became chief years later, or when he saw his friend Miranda struggling, did he say, "you need an assistant"? 

Nope.

Did Webber point out that the reason he had been good was because he had one? Nope. And didn't get another when he tried to do the job again. 

So, it's a tiny bit, like 10%, Webber's fault for not keeping the position filled, not making sure the chiefs after him understood the value of that position. 

They know they need a scrub nurse to operate. But outside the ER, they act like the hundreds of other hospital jobs just don't exist. 

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